All over history, is written the advancements of medicine and technology through the involvement of animal experimentation. Aristotle (384-322 BC) and Erasistratus (304-258 BC) both performed numerous experiments on live animals for the advancement of human intellect. Helpless animals had to suffer through surgeries and multiple experiments for the benefit of human knowledge. Today, there are certain laws that have been set by the United States legislature that “insure that certain animals intended for use in research facilities are provided humane care and treatment” (Animal Welfare Act). The distinction between “humane care and treatment” on paper, and “humane care and treatment” in reality, has such a magnanimous boundary, that on …show more content…
One of these groups is the PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Founded by Alex Pacheco and Ingrid Newkirk in 1980, this organization is one of the largest animal rights activists in the world. Though is it is well-known, this organization of activists is often persecuted for its tenacious movements and defiant civic manifestations. The goals of the PETA mainly focuses on stopping animal use in research laboratories, the fur industry, sports, entertainment, and factory farms. It also believes in moral consideration for animals and that these creatures shouldn’t have to endure such agony to benefit human inclinations. In the process of protecting these defenceless animals, the PETA constantly makes efforts to expose and eliminate animal experimentation all together. Research facilities, universities, hospitals, contract laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, and government agencies are their preeminent objectives, in accomplishing this goal. The procedures that take place are undeniably horrid and barbaric. Over 1,000 laboratories have “monkeys addicted to drugs, sheep and pigs have their skin burned off, tiny mice are made to grow tumors nearly the size of their body, dogs intentionally poisoned, rats are made to suffer from seizures” (Animals in Medical Experiments). This is only scratching the surface. Another organization that fights to protect the right of animals
Animals endure so much pain and suffering when being tested on. In some cases, animal testing can be deadly or lead to serious side effects that will forever stick with the animal that was tested on. Animals hardly ever, to never benefit from testing. In research and testing, animals are subjected to experiments that can include everything from testing new drugs to infecting with diseases, poisoning for toxicity testing, burning skin, causing brain damage, implanting electrodes into the brain, maiming, blinding, and other painful and invasive procedures (NEAVS). It can include protocols that cause severe suffering. Also, can’t forget about the restricted living conditions where animals are forced to live in an unhealthy habitat out of their own element during the testing period. Animals in labs suffer not only pain from protocols, but also severe stress from day-to-day laboratory life. They spend their lives in barren cages, unable to make choices or express natural behaviors. Most never experience fresh air or sunshine, only bars and concrete. Although most think that the Animal Welfare Act protects animals from abuse, it is a common misconception that the AWA protects animals against abuse and harm in the laboratory or in other areas of commerce. This is not true. According to the National Anti-Vivisection Society the AWA regulates the use of animals in research and outlines standards for their care, it does not protect
For years, scientists have experimented with animals to study how diseases and disabilities affect them. Take neurologist Thomas Gennarelli for example. Dr. Thomas Gennarelli used primates as test subjects. For a little bit over 15 years, he bashed primates to imitate head injuries in human beings. He believed the results of his experiments would be beneficial in the future on how we should treat head injuries. The team that worked for him recorded the data via videotapes. Unfortunately, as much as he tried, Thomas Gennarelli flopped and could not create duplicate head injuries. In 1984, participants of the Animal Liberation Front broke into the University of Pennsylvania’s Medical school and swindled the tapes that’s withheld the data from the experiments. They edited the tapes to show the most gruesome abuses of the primates and submitted it to People for Ethical Treatments of Animals. Peta then submitted it to Congress and the media. Participants of these experiments claimed they appease the primates with drugs, so they would feel not pain. The videotapes told a different story. Just before the hammer smashed their heads, the primates tried to escape. The researchers used foul language and performed unsanitary procedures upon the primates. They mocked and chuckled at attentive primates with broken arms. The National Institutes of Health analyzed the videotapes. Thomas Gennarelli was condemned of 9 charges such as unacceptable veterinary care and lack of guidance for the
They are enslaved, beaten, and kept in chains to make them perform for humans’ “entertainment”; they are mutilated and confined to tiny cages so that we can kill them and eat them; they are burned, blinded, poisoned, and cut up alive in the name of “science”; they are electrocuted, strangled, and skinned alive so that people can parade around in their coats; and worse.” PETA fights for researching into alternative methods of testing so that animals don’t have to suffer in scientific
“Would we imprison our children in cages too small for them to move? Would we violate our sisters and steal their babies? Would we deliberately infect our friends with diseases and leave them untreated? Of course not so why would we do the same to animals? We must abandon the archaic and incorrect boundary of “human,” which we use to justify the ongoing massacre of billions of beings (PETA)”. According to the New England Anti-Vivisection Society, “There is an estimate of 100 million animals that are burned, crippled, poisoned, and abused in laboratory testing every year. “Most animals in laboratories never will experience fresh air or sunshine, only bars and concrete sound more like a prison well that’s just the beginning of what animal’s experience. There are few facilities that provide some outside caging, and they typically rotate the animals, giving them limited and infrequent amounts of time outdoors. Standard lab conditions, such as small, crowded cages, lack of enrichment, loud noises, and bright lights are all known to create stress in animals. When it comes to animals and their rights, there is a fine line between our needs and taking advantage of these animals just because we consider them to be inferior (NEAVS).”
frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, monkeys, fish, and birds, are killed in U.S. laboratories for biology lessons, medical training, curiosity- driven experimentation, and chemical drug, food, and cosmetic testing” (Peta 1). Animals have been used repeatedly throughout the history of biomedical research. Early Greek physician-scientists such as Aristotle and Erasistratus, performed experiments on living animals. Every day, animals all over the world are killed in laboratories for testing. Although there is a rising number of activists fighting against animal testing and abuse, there are still an excessive amount of animals being
Some of the earliest records on animal testing date back to ancient Greek philosophers and physicians such as Aristotle (1). Since then, the use of animals in experimentation has grown tremendously and has evolved into an indispensable arm of biology. Whether it be to test the effects of various chemicals on living organisms or developing a model of a disease for future study, biology makes ample use of model organisms for a variety of purposes and without their implementation many of the medical advancements we enjoy today would not exist. Despite their deep and widespread historical use, the ethical considerations of using these animals is still a highly debated topic around the world. This essay will argue that animal use is vital to the advancement of biology and that ample ethical standards are in place to ensure they receive the
Every year, more than 100,000,000 animals, containing mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish, and birds die in the United States facilities for the use of chemical, food, drug, and cosmetics testing (PETA). Animal experimentation pertains to the experiments and procedures that are performed on living animals for insight into many diseases, the effectiveness of new medications, examining the health effects on humans because of products, environmental safety for industry and consumer products including household cleaners, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food additives and agricultural and industrial chemicals (Humane Society International). Animal experimentation for medical and cosmetic use is inhumane
Animal testing is a cruel and inhumane thing to do to a living organism. PETA believes that during experiments the animals are not protected from suffering and there are no laws that are in place to protect them. The animals in laboratories are treated like cheap disposable laboratory equipment. In fact, more than 100 million animals are killed in the United States because they are victims of harsh and deadly experiments that torture and kill these defenseless animals. Before their death, some animals are forced to participate in experiments that require them to
The government has placed few laws in order to prevent inhumane experiments. These laws explain how to correctly treat animals. For example, scientists need to treat the animals with respect and care. One article states “When animal use is necessary, it should be carried out humanely and with concern for the comfort, general health, and well-being of the animals by scientist and staff who are qualified and trained to do the work successfully. These concerns have been codified in The Animal Welfare Act and Guide for the Care and Use of Animals in the United States” (“Using”). To summarize that statement, scientists and staff involved in animal experimentation must do such work and humanely carry out the medicine on their subjects. However,
Dating back to 2,500 years ago, animals have been used for research worldwide (“Should Animals Be Used”). Many of the first accounts of animal testing have been found in Greek writings (“Should Animals Be Used”). Today, the ethicality of these experiments is continually debated. Every year in the United States, approximately twenty six million animals are used for research (“Should Animals Be Used”). These tests are used to expand the knowledge of medical treatments, such as a drug’s toxicity and safety (“Should Animals Be Used”). Due to the multiple immoral practices, the world should eliminate the use of animals for research because animal testing is inhumane, there are new alternative procedures that can be utilized, and the animal
Right this second, millions of animals are in cold empty cages waiting to be put out of their pain and misery. Around the country, animal testing trials are going on right now, as we speak. Many do not consider that those animals that are tested on are not taken care of properly, when animals are in pain and scared, they give off negative results, but most importantly, people and animals are different, which creates inaccurate results. PETA is an organization to help protect animals against cruelty. On their website it states, “The only U.S. law that governs the use of animals in laboratories—the Animal Welfare Act—allows animals to be burned, shocked, poisoned, isolated, starved, forcibly restrained, addicted to drugs, and brain-damaged” (“Animal testing is bad”, n.d., para. 21). We do not protect our animals as well as we should, but on top of that, these animals
The majority of the population is not aware of what actually goes on during animal research and experimentation. A lot of the times animal experimentation can be painful, brutal and unnecessary. One example would be at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1984 a small group snuck into the section of the University where head trauma was being researched. It was no ordinary research, baboons were the main subjects in many of their studies and experiments. This group was part of the Animal Liberation Front, or ALF. The Animal Liberation Front “is simply the name adopted by people acting illegally in behalf of animal rights” (PETA). Many ALF members engage in laboratory raids where
There is tremendous amount of debates that go on in this world on a daily basis. One of the most talked about debates of the century is that of animal rights and experimentations. This debate, also known in the animal rights community as vivisection, is one of the most difficult to understand. Individuals have numerous different outlooks on animals. Many individuals view animals as friends when others look upon animals as an object of the advancement of medical technologies. No matter what ones perception is about animals, the fact is that animals are being tortured by research facilities and cosmetics companies on a daily basis. In spite of the fact that humans frequently benefit from successful animal experimentations, the pain, and occasionally
“Right now millions of mice, rats, rabbits, primates, puppies and other animals are locked inside cold, barren cages, in laboratories across the country. They ache in loneliness, and long to roam free and use their minds. Instead all they can do is wait in fear of the next terrifying and painful procedure that will be performed on them,” is the opening statement on the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or more commonly PETA, website. An estimated 29 million animals are used in scientific and commercial testing each year in the United States. Animal testing is often cruel, and cannot accurately predict results in human beings because humans are very different. This issue is very personal to me, as I love animals and have two
“Imagine living inside a locked closet without any control over any aspect of your life. You can’t choose when and what you eat, how you will spend your time, whether or not you will have a partner and children, or who that partner will be. You can’t even decide when the lights go on and off. (Cruelty to Animals in Laboratories.)” This is the horrifying reality that animals used in animal experiments have to face. Animal experimentation is the use of animals in scientific research. Animals help scientists learn more about diseases that occur in humans and animals. Scientists also use animals to test new treatments, medicines, surgical techniques, and more. Different animals can be used for these experiments and the experiments can