Animal Experimentation In The Twenty First Century

Approximately 26 million animals are used every year in the United States alone for research and commercial testing (“Background of the Issue” 1). For years, legislators have debated the pros and cons of animal testing, and laws were passed to attempt to fix the inhumane treatment of the cute, innocent testing subjects, the animals. Although the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) was revised numerous times, “the species most commonly used in experiments (mice, rats, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians) comprise 99% of all animals in laboratories” and are the animals that are specifically exempted from protection under the act (“Experiments on Animals” 2). A simple fix to animal cruelty during testing is to use alternative methods since human and animal bodies already vary greatly. For years, animal testing was the best option because there was no alternative to testing on a living, whole-body system; however, in the age of technology, there is no reason for millions of animals to be killed due to the severity of the testing. Therefore, animal testing should be banned because alternative methods provide more accurate results since human bodies are very different than animal bodies; furthermore, animal advocacy organizations should promote cruelty-free products more so customers know what to purchase and use.

The experimentation of animals has been used for a multitude of years for research to advance a scientific understanding of a living organism. To this day animals are being tested on for the use of human products. In 3D-printing human skin: The end of animal testing? by Jessica Mendoza, Speculative Philosophy, the Troubled Middle, and the Ethics of Animal Experimentation by Strachan Donnelley, “Animals and Medical Science: A Vision of a New Era” by David O. Wiebers, Cruelty-free cosmetics benefit consumers as well as animals by The Sydney Morning Herald, and Technological Alternatives Can End the Experimental Use of Animals by George Dvorsky, show how Animal experimentation is redundant and needs to be diminished because there are

As of 2015, 200 to 225 million animals are said to used in laboratory research for the biomedical industry annually worldwide. Typically defended by arguments of reliability and human health benefits, recently the question of ethics and values placed on animal testing have caused it to become a relevant and pressing topic that has been more widely discussed and debated. First off, the laboratory conditions that are instigated upon millions of animal models for the sake of medical research has been said to be unethical and cruel. Additionally, it has been debated that the results of animal experimentation are unreliable across a wide range of areas. Lastly, animal testing not only leads away from the direction of resources from more effective testing methods but also prolongs the duration of time humans may need to wait for an effective cure. Therefore, the potential benefits of animal experimentation are greatly outweighed by the risks and collective harm of humans and animals which is why resources should be directed towards more human-based testing procedures.

Throughout history, animal experimentation has played an important role in leading to new discoveries and human benefits. However, what many people tend to forget are the millions of animals that are tortured or killed during the process of these painful, deadly experiments. Many people seem to misunderstand animal nature and the laboratory procedures and techniques that are executed on the animals. The procedures are cruel, unreliable, and harmful. Luckily there are more humane alternatives that have also proved to be less expensive.

The debate about using animals for medical testing has been raging for years. The struggle always seems to be between extremist animal rights activists who believe that animals should never be used for research, and scientists who believe that any use of animals is acceptable. There are a growing number who argue that there must be a reasonable middle ground. I contend that there must be a significant decrease in the number of animals used by humans to further human goals. I will give a historical account of animal use, provide some statistics about animal use, present some arguments against the use of animals and present Singer's view

Using animals in research and to test the safety of products has been a topic of heated debate for decades. According to data collected by F. Barbara Orlans for her book, In the Name of Science: Issues in Responsible Animal Experimentation, sixty percent of all animals used in testing are used in biomedical research and product-safety testing (62). People have different feelings for animals; many look upon animals as companions while others view animals as a means for advancing medical techniques or furthering experimental research. However individuals perceive animals, the fact remains that animals are being exploited by research facilities and cosmetics

Throughout history, animal experimentation has played an important role in leading to new discoveries and human benefit. However, what many people tend to forget are the great numbers of animal subjects that have suffered serious harm during the process of experimentation. Many people are believed to be ignorant or misunderstand the nature of the lives that animals actually live, and are unable to understand the actual laboratory procedures and techniques. Other than the philosophical questions that arise, ethical (moral) questions are the main reason why many animal right activists want it banned in every country. Activists feel that to this day, there should be no good reason why any living thing should be subjected to this cruel punishment and unwanted torture just for serving another being’s needs.

Annually, for the sake of scientific purposes, many animals suffer from the cruel procedures they face in the laboratories. Testers start off with a normal and healthy animal, and the animal is made sick. (Animal Experimentation, n.d). Due to the fact that there is no specific law prohibiting the torturing of animals in most countries, researchers cross some of the ethical boundaries, many of the animals are shocked, poisoned, and deafened. In addition, to

Approximately twenty-six million animals are used every year in the United States for scientific and consumer research. These animals are used to test products that many people use everyday. The animals are used to test toxicity, consumer products, medical devices, and new drugs. The Federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulates animal testing in the United States. The AWA defines an “animal” as any live or dead dog, cat, monkey, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, and other warm-blooded animals. The AWA does not protect 95% of these animals. The Act excludes animals such as, birds, rats, mice, reptiles, and most fish. While the AWA regulates the housing and transportation of animals used for research, it does not regulate the experiments themselves. Even though the AWA regulates the housing, the facilities are most often horrific. A new and upcoming alternative methods are being put in to place so fewer animals can be used in experimentations. Animal testing should be stopped because new alternative methods are being developed, the testing facilities are unsuitable, it is costly, not time efficient, and the researchers are not following the laws set in place by the United States government (Robinson, 1).

It is believed that animal experimentation is needed in order to benefit from the results and improve in the medical field. However, in reality, most of the experiments do not aid in making much progress in human health. A considerable reason would be the differences between animals and humans. Animal rights organizations

Animal Experimentation has a long history for the use of humankind and animals are being used in a large number to study and develop drugs for the diseases that human beings suffer from. “Between 17 million and 22 million animals are estimated to be used annually in the United States in research, education, and testing and about 85 percent of these are rats and mice, and less than 2 percent are cats, dogs, and nonhuman primates (Office of Technology Assessment, 1986)” (National, R. C. S. 1988, p. 18).

“Animal experimentation is the term used to explain the use of animals in education, training and research” (“Animal Experimentation” ) in order to enhance medical and cosmetological experimentation for humans, and involves keeping animals locked up in a laboratory. The sole purpose of animal experimentation and the use of animals in research dates back to when humans started looking for ways to cure and prevent deadly diseases. Today, “the majority of animal experiments do not contribute to improving human health, and the value of the role that animal experimentation plays in most medical advances is questionable” (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. par. 1). In other words, animal experimentation is not justified in the world we

According to the Laboratory Animal Resource Center, “more than 100 million animals are killed in experiments each year in the United States” (qtd. in Technology). Animal experimentation is a scientific process that tests chemical substances on animal subjects versus human subjects to see how they react with the different body systems. This process has been used all over the world, but today, it is used in very few places around the world. Animal experimentation can be used for cosmetic research to see how makeup products, soaps, or moisturizers will react on the skin. This process can also be used for medical research to find cures or vaccines for various diseases. Animal experimentation is made to sound like a good thing, but in

Animal testing, also known as in vivo testing and animal experiments, is using the animals for research purposes (soundearth.com, 2010). It is far predicted that each year greater than 115 million animals worldwide are exploited in laboratory experiments (HIS.org). The vertebrate animals are used such as mice, rats, birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, fish, farm animals, cats, dogs and non-human primates (soundearth.com, 2015). Half of these animals were genetically modified breeds while the other half were unmodified animals, of which 58% were carried out for fundamental research, 26% for medical purposes and 8% for veterinary purposes (theguardian,2015). Animal research has played an significant role in the major medical advance for both human and

It is estimated that at least 100 million animals are used across the world for experimentation purposes (Ferdowsian & Nancy 3). This is evidently an underestimation considering the fact that it is impossible to quantify the exact number accurately. Animal experimentation is carried out for commercial purposes and scientific development such as the verification of the safety of new medicines and determination of their toxicity in ascertaining their effectiveness if used by human beings. In America, animal experimentation is rampant in medical centers, educational institutions, government agencies, cosmetic companies and private research institutions. Since the first attempt to explore the impacts of animal testing by Russell and Rex Burch in 1959, many stakeholders including human right activists have condemned the practice, but little has been accomplished in combating the same (Ferdowsian & Nancy 3). This paper discusses animal experimentation and an unethical and an unjustifiable practice which should be banned in every institution.