Animal Experimentation Issues and Alternatives Essay

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.

Animal Experimentation has been dated as far back as to the Early Greek Era. This practice has been viewed as ethical by research scientists trying to find new medical breakthroughs. Yet, in recent years, the use of animals in research and experimentation has been frowned upon by animal protection groups and animal rights activists. Animals are protected by certain guidelines and ethics prior to their use in research. Contrary to popular belief, animal experimentation should be viewed on a positive note, due to the fact that it can benefit human life, reduce adverse effects on humans, and the cost is cheaper and easier.

Almost all animals used in testing are rodents such as rats, mice, and occasionally but not often rabbits. In addition, something you should know is that scientists everywhere are required to test by the three R's. Replace, reduce, and refine.

Animals have been treated immorally since the beginning of time, this is shown by hunting, farming, trapping, testing of products and biomedical research etc. As humans, majority of us claim animals as our resources as we use them for eating, making clothing, (leather and fur jackets, shoes) working animals, as a means of transport, animal testing etc. In this essay I will discuss the use of animals in biomedical research and state why some believe it is morally justified. I will then present an objection to argue why biomedical research is morally unjustified and why I believe this. I will write this essay using resources from Tom Regan 's, “The case for animal rights”, David DeGrazia’s, “The ethics of animal research: what are the prospects for agreement?’, Baruch A. Brody’s, “Defending animal research: An international perspective” and Peter Singer’s, “Animal Liberation at 30”. I will then come to my own conclusion based on the different perspectives from the above philosophers and by using my own knowledge on the issue.

Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and in vivo testing, is the use of the world’s living, breathing organisms in cruel, unlawful experiments. Usually, they conduct these experiments in facilities such as medical laboratories, university research centers; places such as commercial places in the world industry that provide animal testing services to the industries amongst the world we live in today. This particular practice is rangely varied in every aspect and part of the world, including the type of animals they use. Most are pure bred, while a minority are caught in the wild living in their natural habitats and sold by suppliers.

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

In the basement of the psychology department here, a poster hangs on the wall; on it is a picture of two white lab rats and a caption that reads, ?They?ve saved more lives than 911.? This poster hangs on the wall of the room where I performed brain surgery on a rat. Many people would be morally opposed to this and any other form of animal research and experimentation and feel that it should be banned. This heated debate has been going on for centuries with each side possessing strong arguments. A central argument to this debate is whether or not animals are moral patients, with feelings anId the ability to suffer, and if we as humans are entitled to use them as means. Many people feel that we

Animal experiments or laboratory animal science have been a popular controversial issue. Since the seventeenth century, there are debates on the ethics of animal testing. The ultimate goal of the development of laboratory animal science, that is, through the animal studies of the phenomenon of life itself, and then push the use of human, explore the mysteries of human life, control of human diseases and aging and prolong human life. Nowadays, Animal experiments are permitted in many countries. In the other hand, there are also many dissenting voices. They said animal testing is ‘inhumane’. It is too cruel and has potentially dangerous to human beings and Ecosystem. However, Animal experiments are generally used in the development and testing of new medicines. It is estimated worldwide that the number of vertebrate animals using for animal experiments ranges from the tens of millions to more than 100 million used annually. And Animal experiment had made a great contribution in the field of science,

Every year, millions of animals suffer through painful and unnecessary tests. Animals in laboratories all over the world live lives of deprivation, pain, isolation, and torture. Even though vast studies show that animal experimentation often lacks validity, leading to harmful human reactions, we still continue to use this method of experimentation, while many other less-expensive and more beneficial alternatives exist. Going beyond the issue of animal experimentation being morally wrong, this form of research is also hindering medical progress. Although the use of animals in laboratories is said to be necessary for the welfare and health of humans, people mistakenly believe that this immoral and unscientific method of experimentation is

For centuries, the ethics of animal experimentation in the biomedical field have been questioned. The primary concern is whether the animals used in research outweigh the pain the animals endure. Animal rights activists will argue that there are new alternatives, which are more accurate than animal testing. The success of animal trials has continued the use by scientists within the medical field. Additionally, testing on animals eliminate harm to humans. The first Animal Cruelty Act was created in 1835 to regulate the use of animals for scientific purposes (Franco, 2013). According to Franco (2013, p. 256). the “enactment of the 1986 Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act remains the only known legislation to regulate animal experiments for nearly 50 years.” Even so, there will continue to be two sides of animal research. One side believes, without animal research there would not be the medical advancements and on the other hand, the use of animal research is unethical. Finding new alternatives may also be even more beneficial than animal testing. The medical field should seek alternatives to animal research or the methods are refined to reduce unethical.

There are numerous types of tests performed on animals, most of which fall into one of three broad categories: product, procedure and device, and drug and disease. Product testing is the testing of cosmetics, personal care, and household products to ensure regulatory guidelines are met. Procedure and device testing is intended to discover, test, or perfect medical procedures or devices used in medical treatments. Similarly, drug and disease testing is intended to experiment with drugs used in the treatment of conditions or diseases. This category includes exploratory research, which is testing done out of curiosity; to answer questions or make discoveries that may be useful in the future.

Most animal brought to trial is the guinea pig. Why is the Guinea pig? The reason why the mice are frequently applied in animal research is the genetic profile of it similar to humans more than 98%. With similar organs in the system, circulatory system

Animals have been used all throughout history to test the effectiveness of medicines. Rachel Hajar discusses the history of this controversial issue. Early Greek scientists performed various experiments on animals to advance their understanding of anatomy, physiology, and other sciences. Some scientists even performed surgical procedures on animals before performing them on humans. Based on this history, we can say that it is necessary to preform experiments to advance knowledge, although those against animal testing claim the benefit to humans does not justify the harm to animals.

There are three main reasons why animals are used in experiments are research on disease, behavior, and education. Research of how the cells function and how disease works. What causes the disease? What can prevent those diseases and how to cure them? Research’s test drugs, chemicals, or products to determine safety and effectiveness.

Animal experiments refer to the use of animals to conduct scientific experiments in order to study medical knowledge and to verify the physiological or behavioral impact of individual factors on the animals tested. Medical students in order to master the medical knowledge also requires animal experiments to verify the learned medical knowledge, such as anatomy, histology and embryology, physiology, pharmacology, pathology and so on.