1981 Silver Spring Monkey Case: Animal Rights Activists

Animal testing is always a behind closed doors situation. Most people are aware that it is happening yet never give it a second thought. An estimate of more then 115 million animals all around the world, including the most common mice, rats, rabbits, and monkeys, are used in experiments every single year (“11 Facts About Animal Testing”, n.d.). And according to change.org the “USA spends $16 billion dollars annually for animal testing at tax payers' expense.” (“Sign the Petition”, n.d.)

Initially you might believe that animals have moral rights. Animals tested are don’t even have the mental capacity to comprehend different objects, let alone what they’re going through. They just have similar features of a human, which outside of this scenario would be completely useless. Another argument might be how testing doesn’t have guaranteed results, but hurts organisms in the process. While this is true, testing has an 83.7% success rate, while taking in consideration animals that were too weak to live past a few hours. Taking note of how only a few hundred animals are tested on a year, that 16.3% is a minimal amount. This is all for the better of humans, and even animals. After all, animal products are created off of these tests too. The death of a few animals, is better for us, and the rest of

Asking just about any animal rights activists on the thoughts of animal testing, it is reasonable to expect that the majority of them would address crucial flaws in many of the laws in regards to animals and how animals are supposedly “protected” by these laws. Trained scientists and researchers take on the key role of testing on animals in laboratories and facilities throughout the world, using the excuse that we are expanding knowledge and furthering medical research. In the United States alone, there are very few laws truly protecting animals from the unnecessary amounts of suffering the research forces upon them with many exceptions. Additionally, in reference to the scientists who perform these tests, the author of the article,

Proponents say animal testing has helped save many people and animals. That there is no other way to test cures and commercial object, and with strict regulations, they do not mistreat the animals. Opponents say it is cruel and they do not follow the rules of the law as they are supposed to. There are many different ways to research without the usage of animals. The AWA, the Animal Welfare Act, was passed in 1966. Animal testing started in five hundred BC. They use to say causing pain on animals was offensive to the gods. In the 1940's many monkeys died going into space. Luckily in 1951 Yorick the monkey lived and came but unharmed. To this day many people debate this topic, but mostly people are leaning now towards saving the

Imagine being locked up in a cage having chemicals rubbed, injected and force fed into you. Over 1,000,000,000 animals per year suffer rashes, cuts, burns, infections, loneliness and even death. This is due to animal cruelty or testing. It should be illegal to test on animals. You should be able to adopt an animal after the lab is thru with it.

The amount of pain that not even most, but all animals have to go through every day is sickening. In an article written by PETA they mention how “It’s unethical to sentence 100 million thinking, feeling animals to life in a laboratory cage and intentionally cause them pain, loneliness, and fear.”(PETA “Top five reasons to stop animal testing”) That is a lot of animals to be stripped from their homes and sanctioned to this punishment. A big part of animal testing too is that even though they have gotten a lot better with the conditions of animal testing, they still haven't necessarily increased in quality. Animals are still dying and still are

Because of the active participation of the animal rights organizations, many groups brought cases and events into attention, causing a wave of responses from both sides of the debate. The “Silver Spring monkeys” case is perhaps the most famous case in the animal rights movement. Occurring in Silver Spring, Maryland in 1981, the case resulted in many court cases that were heavily publicized by the media. Alex Pacheco, the cofounder of PETA, pretended as if he was an ordinary student that wanted to work with Dr. Edward Taub. Taub was conducting an experiment on seventeen monkeys to study the rehabilitation of disabled limbs by purposely deforming, tearing, and amputating the limbs of the monkeys. Pacheco was sent undercover to expose the experiment,

Unfortunately, animals being put through testing face conditions that are extremely unhealthy. Animals are kept in unsanitary areas with little to no space at all. According to the organization Humane Society International, “animals used in experiments are commonly subjected to force feeding, forced inhalation, food and water deprivation…” (“Animal Testing - ProCon.org”). With no rights at all animals are being forced into harsh medical testings for diseases that can kill or severely injure the animal, such as polio. Through undercover investigation animals located in these labs are living “stressful, monotonous, and unnatural lives of daily confinement and deprivation” (“Animal Testing - ProCon.org”). Not only are these conditions being displayed in large laboratories, but also universities such as University of Oklahoma. During these experiments animals are being“fed chemicals, infected with diseases they would not naturally get, and are treated with no painkillers” (Animal Testing - ProCon.org”). As a result, medical testing facilities should be unable to be this inhumane to animals. Even though these tests may combat a widespread disease, animals should not have to endure this type of treatment at their own will.

Over one million animals are burned, immobilized, poisoned, and tortured in US labs every year (DoSomething.org). Animal testing is considered a very controversial topic that evolves to protesting rather large companies, and also leads to boycotting a specific brand that is known to test on animals. Animals should not be used for testing products because it is cruel to the animals, there are now new ways to test products, and animals are very different from humans so they are not accurate results.

The amount of pain that not even most, but ALL animals have to go through every day is sickening. In an article written by PETA they mention how “It’s unethical to sentence 100 million thinking, feeling animals to life in a laboratory cage and intentionally cause them pain, loneliness, and fear.”(PETA “Top five reasons to stop animal testing”) That is a lot of animals to be stripped from their homes and sanctioned to this punishment. A big part of animal testing too is that even though they have gotten a lot better with the conditions of animal testing, they still haven't necessarily increased in quality. Animals are still

Thousands of animals are hurt and even killed because of animal testing every year. Scientists use animals of all kinds, apes, mice, rabbits, cats, etc. to experiment on. These experiments range from giving them drugs, to see what effect they might have on humans, to testing what extreme heat would do to the human body. The outcome of these experiments are often harm and even death. Animal testing is not morally justified because it causes harm to live animals, there are suitable alternatives to animal testing, and there are too many differences between humans and animals to be able to call the outcome “Accurate”.

Can you imagine what it’s like to live in a cage your whole life? What if every single day your body was poked with needles that injected either deadly diseases or possibly lethal doses of drugs into your system? In addition to that, what if you were force fed, not only food but, chemicals and drugs or you had to have your organs removed and skin be chemically burned? Most of us, thankfully, can’t imagine the horror of being mistreated like this. In the animal kingdom, humans are at the top. We hold superiority over all other living things which give us a substantial amount of power. However, we don’t always use this power for good. This is the reality of animal testing. According to Humane Society International,

Animal testing is barbaric and inhumane. Animal testing is barbaric and inhumane because the scientist force feed them, and they have prolonged periods of physical restraint, and it could kill them. Animals don’t have a voice, so they get a say of what they go through.

Each year, more than 100 million animals are killed in the United States from animal testing. These animals are harmed or even killed more than half of the time that they are experimented on. These harmless animals are taken and forced into captivity for different kinds of testing from day to day. They are forced to stay in cages all day long and only get to eat what they are given based on testing for that day. Animals are just like people; they need to exercise, have interactions, be able to eat when hungry, etc., but laboratories take away these privileges from the animals by trapping them in the lab all day. Animal testing is wrong and harmful in many ways.

Animal testing is a growing issue throughout the entire world and the main issue is animals do not have a voice to speak their rights. We currently do have the technology to test products on them without harming anyone or anything. The Humane Society points out that animals are, “ Force feeding, forced inhalation” they have their necks broken and more, the list is endless. Their rights need to be protected and our voice is theirs. “only certain animals are protected by the AWA (Animal welfare Act)” meaning some animals lives are