Is Animal Testing Necessary?
Minette Steyn
Is Animal Testing Necessary? (Topic 1)
Do you know what happens to that beautiful white bunny, the moment it sets its paw into a testing laboratory or even worse what this vulnerable animal and many others are physically subjected to?
95% of animals used in experiments are not protected by the existing Animal Welfare Act signed into law in 1996, which excludes birds, rats, reptiles and fish (Unknown, 2015). The previously mentioned animals are the animals most used during experimental testing. The purpose of animal testing procedures is to further research on biology and diseases, but now they are not only being used for these purposes but also for research on cosmetics, household cleaners, industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Animal Testing is no longer the only option for research, available to scientists, there are many other methods which can be used to gather information (ProCon.org, 2015): therefore all research companies still making use of animal testing should be closely monitored and should suffer legal repercussions if they continue to use animals in this cruel manner.
Animal Testing is cruel and inhumane. According to the Humane Society* …show more content…
International (ProCon.org, 2015), animals subjected to testing are forced to inhale toxic gases, force fed dangerous substances, starved of food and water which leads to malnutrition and dehydration. They are burnt on purpose so that researchers are able to study healing remedies and subjected to pain in order for scientists to learn about the physical and neurological effects. It is common knowledge that the majority of diseases humans come into contact with are extremely painful for our bodies to cope with, which is why it can be said without a doubt that it is an act of cruelty when animals are infected with human type diseases that they would never naturally come into contact with. Tiny mice are infected with tumors that grow to be the size of their bodies and that rats are made to suffer seizures (Peta, 2014), and these examples are only two of the hundreds of cruel acts
Animals and Humans differ in many ways making the animal testing inaccurate.
According to ProCon.org clinical trials which are thought to be successful when tested on animals actually fail 94% of the time when tested on humans (ProCon.org, 2015). We must therefore ask the question: is the pain these animals suffer worth the results?
Opponents say that animal testing is necessary and that it should continue because animal testing has contributed too many life-saving cures and treatments. According to ProCon.org however it is no longer necessary as alternate testing methods now exist, such as artificial skin being made from human cells and the artificial skin then being used to test chemicals for skin products. These results would be much more accurate and would prevent animals from being
harmed.
Opponents also deny that animals used for testing are treated cruelly and claim that the animals are cared for by veterinarians and husbandry specialists. This claim has also been completely proven wrong with horrific evidence found by the Humane Society at a research center in Louisiana (ProCon.org, 2015). At this research center the primates undergoing a series of tests where suffering from such severe psychological stress that they were engaging in self-mutilation, tearing into their arms and legs. At this same research center infant primates whilst undergoing painful tests and experiments where kept alert and awake. Primates have been proven to have outstanding cognitive abilities and experience strong emotions similar to humans (The Hastings Center, 2012), so why is it that humans can’t be tested on as it is seen as inhumane but animals so closely related to us such as these primates can be.
If we as humans cannot be humane to the needs of an animal as genetically closely related to us as a chimpanzee, where will this all stop? Will we find humans who’s IQ’s are low or people with disabilities and start testing on them as they are inferior to us? Or will we simply keep tossing that now blind or brain dead white bunny into the bin?
Is Animal Testing Necessary? (Topic 1)
Do you know what happens to that beautiful white bunny, the moment it sets its paw into a testing laboratory or even worse what this vulnerable animal and many others are physically subjected to?
95% of animals used in experiments are not protected by the existing Animal Welfare Act signed into law in 1996, which excludes birds, rats, reptiles and fish (Unknown, 2015). The previously mentioned animals are the animals most used during experimental testing. The purpose of animal testing procedures is to further research on biology and diseases, but now they are not only being used for these purposes but also for research on cosmetics, household cleaners, industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Animal Testing is no longer the only option for research, available to scientists, there are many other methods which can be used to gather information (ProCon.org, 2015): therefore all research companies still making use of animal testing should be closely monitored and should suffer legal repercussions if they continue to use animals in this cruel manner.
Animal Testing is cruel and inhumane. According to the Humane Society* …show more content…
International (ProCon.org, 2015), animals subjected to testing are forced to inhale toxic gases, force fed dangerous substances, starved of food and water which leads to malnutrition and dehydration. They are burnt on purpose so that researchers are able to study healing remedies and subjected to pain in order for scientists to learn about the physical and neurological effects. It is common knowledge that the majority of diseases humans come into contact with are extremely painful for our bodies to cope with, which is why it can be said without a doubt that it is an act of cruelty when animals are infected with human type diseases that they would never naturally come into contact with. Tiny mice are infected with tumors that grow to be the size of their bodies and that rats are made to suffer seizures (Peta, 2014), and these examples are only two of the hundreds of cruel acts
Animals and Humans differ in many ways making the animal testing inaccurate.
According to ProCon.org clinical trials which are thought to be successful when tested on animals actually fail 94% of the time when tested on humans (ProCon.org, 2015). We must therefore ask the question: is the pain these animals suffer worth the results?
Opponents say that animal testing is necessary and that it should continue because animal testing has contributed too many life-saving cures and treatments. According to ProCon.org however it is no longer necessary as alternate testing methods now exist, such as artificial skin being made from human cells and the artificial skin then being used to test chemicals for skin products. These results would be much more accurate and would prevent animals from being
harmed.
Opponents also deny that animals used for testing are treated cruelly and claim that the animals are cared for by veterinarians and husbandry specialists. This claim has also been completely proven wrong with horrific evidence found by the Humane Society at a research center in Louisiana (ProCon.org, 2015). At this research center the primates undergoing a series of tests where suffering from such severe psychological stress that they were engaging in self-mutilation, tearing into their arms and legs. At this same research center infant primates whilst undergoing painful tests and experiments where kept alert and awake. Primates have been proven to have outstanding cognitive abilities and experience strong emotions similar to humans (The Hastings Center, 2012), so why is it that humans can’t be tested on as it is seen as inhumane but animals so closely related to us such as these primates can be.
If we as humans cannot be humane to the needs of an animal as genetically closely related to us as a chimpanzee, where will this all stop? Will we find humans who’s IQ’s are low or people with disabilities and start testing on them as they are inferior to us? Or will we simply keep tossing that now blind or brain dead white bunny into the bin?