Animal Research : Animal Testing

Ever since the late 1960’s and the early 1970’s, animal research has been under extreme fire for what they do. This is mainly due to the many changing perspectives on the relationship between humans and the other aspects of the world that are surrounding them. There are many main reasons for this change, but the main reason is the different ideas that surrounded the use and exploration of animals in laboratories is what is being brought into question.

The usage of animals for developing new cosmetics and educational purposes has been going on for years. Most importantly, over 26 million animals each year are used for medical purposes: biomedical research and clinical research. Why is animal testing such an important factor in the medical field?

A rabbit lives its life trapped in a laboratory. It doesn’t get fresh air and has different products tested on it every day. The product can make the rabbit go blind or cause its skin to burn, but there is nothing the rabbit can do about it. This is what happens to animals every day from cosmetic companies who test their products on animals. According to Cruelty Free Kitty (2017), over 30 cosmetic companies continue to use animal testing to improve their products. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2017), “the agency has consistently advised cosmetic manufactures to employ whatever testing is appropriate and effective for substantiating the safety of their products.” This means that if the company believes animal testing is the best option for their product they are allowed to do it. Testing cosmetics on animals is cruel and inhumane, and people should avoid using products that test on animals.

Many of us are unaware of the sheer number of animals that undergo constant suffering in the name of human vanity. Animal testing was originally introduced in the early 20th century and is still prominent today. It is morally unacceptable to experiment on animals for human purposes. The procedures used in animal testing are cruel and inhumane, nor are they the most reliable source of data; resulting in many mishaps. Moreover, with the perpetual advancements in technology, there are several alternative methods making animal testing unnecessary. If testing cosmetics and drugs on humans is unacceptable, what makes it acceptable to test on animals?

Guiding Question: What are the possible alternatives to prevent animal experimentation for experimental medications for humans?

Animal testing has been a controversial topic for discussion for centuries. Major conflicting concerns that include, but are not limited to the morals and values of society today, are in my opinion where these issues stem from. For instance, some people seem to believe that by using animals for testing and experimentation is unethical and violating animals rights. Nonetheless, a cosmetic company using rabbits to test the irritancy levels of it’s products eyes for the purposes of making nonirritating cosmetics for women who will use such products in my opinion, is necessary for human safety and usage. I understand that the testing process may be painful to the rabbits, and understand why some may believe this is an act of animal abuse or

Animal testing began after consumer products caused harm to the buyer. In 1930, a mascara called Lash Lure, blinded many women who used it. In 1937, one hundred people died from a new cough syrup called Elixir (Why do companies test cosmetics or other products on animals? 2013). These are two occurrences that pushed people to use animals for testing product safety. Today, the use of animals has expanded into experiments benefiting the medical field. These experimental animal studies are beneficial to the safety of humans, but animals are sacrificed in the process. Animals are usually killed and dissected at the end of the tests to determine the safety or efficacy of a product or drug. Although animal testing has increased the understanding of medical and consumer issues, the ways these discoveries were made are fatal. As a utilitarian, one needs to consider the benefits and harms of animal testing and discover if they find it ethical. A utilitarian usually would not support animal testing because not everyone included is experiencing the best balance of happiness over unhappiness. The issue of animal testing brings up the question of what animal’s rights are.

Fatima walks into the cosmetic section of Macy’s and is interested in buying some acne skin care products. As she was paying for them, she notices plenty of harmful side effects the acne products contained. Fatima is glad she is aware of these symptoms and knows that these side effects are rare and that the product is almost completely safe to use. If it was not for animal testing that is currently being used in some laboratories, these side effects would have been discovered on people and that would create an unsafe environment. Less people would want to buy care products and medicine since it would be viewed as a risk instead of something helpful. Animal testing is becoming a more controversial topic, despite its many successes over the years. Since people have various misconceptions about it, such as it being an unsafe and cruel technique, it has become a more unpopular method. However, the benefits of animal research and testing have been less spread due to negative media attention, which created a bias among the public. Animal testing is a practice that has proved to be beneficial and should be continued because of the close similarity between humans and animals, the many lifesaving cures that it contributed to, and the regulation of the practice that makes it safe and humane for animals.

Animal testing has helped develop many life-saving treatments for both humans and animals and there are rules that prevent the mistreatment of animals in laboratories. Millions of animals are used each and every year in the United States for scientific and commercial testing. They are used to develop medical treatments, test the effects of medications, check the safety of products, and much more. Research on living animals has been practiced for many years and has provided many benefits to us.

Growing up I learned that everything was created with love. Humans, plants, animals, all living things were put in this world for a purpose. One of these things that breathes life into this world are animals. Growing up I learned about animals in class, and grew an interest for them. Their shape, their features, the different actions and skills that each animal has. Animals are all unique in their own way. But, we tend to use these animals. If they are not pets, or considered as pets then humans take the advantage of using them. They are used for things such as clothes, shoes, purses, and many other different things that we use every day. Animal testing is one of the worst things that humans partake in against these

Animal testing is where an animal test is any scientific experiment or test in which a live animal is forced to undergo something that is likely to cause them pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm.

Animals across the world are used in animal testing and animal research these acts are wrong because animals have rights, feelings, and there are alternatives to animal testing.

Animal testing, a widely used tactic and the backbone of modern medical science which has provided us with much knowledge of disease and treatments, though does animal testing become animal cruelty when faced with a wake of new technologies thus making animal testing an obsolete concept?

Everyday humans interact with animals. Whether monitoring animals in zoos or having them as pets, humans have engaged in either positive or negative relations with animals. Animal experimentation also known as animal testing has been highly discussed, because of the questionable experiments being done on animals, and the way animals treated in general. Looking at the history, effects, and alternatives to animal testing, human involvement in the lives of animals as well as the ethicality of animal testing will be confronted.

Stated by Mahatma Gandhi, “The greatness of the nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. Medical research on animals is an effective way for scientist to test different medical discoveries and experiment before using them on humans to check their result. This technique has been used for centuries dating back to people such and Aristotle and Erasistratus. What exactly is medical research on animals? When we take a deeper look into the experiment that are preformed we can conclude that animals are a living model of humans in these laboratories. It is a necessity to harm and test animals with new drugs in order to market them in the medical industry to aid human illnesses. In order to better comprehend and regulate drugs one must understand what medical research on animals is described as and its benefits to pharmaceutical companies for humans. Exposure to the trials and tribulations that animal testing reveals how important it is for scientists to understand the negative effects they contribute to an animal’s welfare and life. In contrary animal testing has been used to save many human lives from consuming or using a drug that could have caused them life threatening illnesses.