Animal Rights And The Ethical Treatment Of Animals

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.

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.

Experimenting on animals need to be regarded as unacceptable by means of many due to the fact that it causes needless suffering to animals, the benefits of these experiments are yet to be proven, and any advantages humans do attain can be produced in different approaches than experimentation. The U.S. law permits animals to be poisoned, burned, shocked, starved, isolated, drowned, intelligence damaged, and addicted to drugs. There is no test that is prohibited and pain killers are not required, whether or not the test is painful or minor. Animal testing and experiments should be banned because of the excessive animal cruelty involved, the

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

Animals used in laboratories dates as far back as the 17th century (Unknown, 2015)6. When I first read this statistic, it was surprising because the amount of time testing has been around really makes one think about the advancements made because of that. Due to the amount of time animal testing has been around, two general groups have formed in response to this. The people advocating for it are commonly part of the science community or anyone that supports what science hopes to accomplish and then there is the community of people who would not want animals to have to endure the pain from being tested throughout their entire lives. In this paper I will be presenting two perspectives on the topic regarding the use of animals in laboratories. The first perspective will show how animal testing is extremely beneficial to the world of scientific research as well as to the world in general. While the second perspective will show how the animal rights activists believe that the animals being tested on should not be forced to go through painful testing procedures.

The study of good and bad, right and wrong, moral principles or value held by a person or society, promoting human welfare, maximizing freedom minimizing pain and suffering is called ethics. The discipline that studies the moral relationship of human beings and also the value and moral status of the environment and its non-human contents is called environmental ethics. It considers the ethical relationship between the humans and the environment. Animal and animal rights are the highlighted topic in the environmental ethics.

Throughout history, animal experimentation has played a captious role in leading to advanced medical discoveries and human benefit. However, what a profuse group of individuals tend not to perceive are the enormous numbers of animal subjects that have suffered

Animal experiments happen all over the world, but are they necessary? People have different feelings for animals; many looks upon animals as companions while others view animals as a means for advancing medical techniques or furthering experimental research. Some say that these experiments are not painful, so they are justified. Where others believe that all these experiments are inhumane, and nothing can justify torturing and killing innocent animals. Although animal testing helps in improving human health by leading to medical advancements, there is no need to physically and psychologically torture innocent animals because studies show that testing on human cells gives better results.

The last major form of treatment in testing labs is the forced infliction of pain. This pain can come in the form of burns and cuts. These experiments are performed in order to get a full understanding of the body’s healing process. The severity of the wounds depend on which phase in the healing process the scientists want to analyze. Individuals will argue that animals have no mental or cognitive capacity, therefore they cannot feel pain or express any type of emotion. This does not make the act of enforcing pain any more humane. It is understandable that these inflictions of pain are merely for scientific purposes but unfortunately, the Animal Welfare Act is not properly administered to ensure that the procedures are humane.

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

Around the world, an estimated 115 million animals are used in various medical research facilities per year (“Animal Testing,” n.d.). The relationship of humans and animals have been entirely interdependent since early on. Traces of animal testing have dated back to as early as 500 B.C. Even today, numerous species of animals are used for investigation throughout the world. These animals include, but are not limited to, mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds and non-human primates such as monkeys and chimpanzees. Countless people display contradictory positions on animal practices; numerous individuals view animals as partners, while others use animals on behalf of enhancing medical practices and expanding experimental exploration. Prior research has revealed that there are a variety of explicit features that influence people to either aid or contradict the practice of using animals in medical research. Many people consider the kind of animal used, style of study being directed, and how the animals are treated in the experiment (Henry & Pulcino, 2009). Since animals have been universally tested in various fields of experimentation, the ideology of medical research has been a continuous debate within humans. This paper will present alternative positions pertaining to the topic of animal practice in medical research and conclude with a position that seems most permissible.

For many years now the world has seen controversy over the rights of animals and if they think and feel like humans do. Many people see animals as mindless creatures or as food, while others think they have emotions and can feel pain. In other countries animal protection laws are in place that are strictly enforced and seem to work well with the system. In the United States however; some of the animal rights laws are considered to be useless and under-enforced (Animal Legal & Historical Center). More people today are beginning to see that animals should have rights and should be protected by laws and regulations (Animal Legal & Historical Center). Sadly there are many people residing in the United States who don’t take animal rights or protection laws seriously. These people abuse animals in many ways, including food industries that disobey the regulations set in place for the slaughter of animals used for consumption. Luckily for the animals there are people who fight for their rights and the enforcement of laws called animal rights activists.

For the past 20 years, there has a been an on going heated debate on whether experiments on animals for the benefit of medical and scientific research is ethical. Whether it is or isn't, most people believe that some form of cost-benefit test should be performed to determine if the action is right. The costs include: animal pain, distress and death where the benefits include the collection of new knowledge or the development of new medical therapies for humans. Looking into these different aspects of the experimentation, there is a large gap for argument between the different scientists' views. In the next few paragraphs, both sides of the argument will be expressed by the supporters.

“Animal research and testing has played a part in almost every medical breakthrough of the last century. It has saved hundreds of millions of lives worldwide...” – (Former UK Home Office minister Joan Ryan.) My grandpa is one of millions who suffer from heart disease. Heart disease and related conditions is the number one killer in the world. Death rates from this disease are continuing to decline every year because of the medical advancements, diagnosis, and treatment made through animal research. Many may argue that using animals as research is inhumane. That animals have the right to live just as humans, and that animals, such as mice and guinea pigs, are treated cruelly and immoral. Animal experimentation is a contentious issue for critical reasons. It is a front-page debate that continues to feud all over the world. It is universally undeniable that animals play an essential role in medical research.

On such controversial topics, a spectrum of opinions is created: one side feels animal research is necessary and helpful towards the advancement of medicine and the other this type of experimentation is inconclusive and wasteful. Presented in this essay will be