Animal Testing: Alternatives

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.

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.

Throughout the years the use of animals in medical research has been a hot debate around the world. Although animal testing may be cruel and inhumane, thousands of humans are saved thanks to the research that animals supply researchers with. Animals testing have taken over our knowledge of medicine and treatments to a whole different level. Animal testing also does this in a cheap and effective way. Without animals testing out knowledge wouldn’t be up to date, in other words animals’ testing is good.

Animal testing has contributed to many life-saving cures and treatments for humans. In the last century, nearly all the medical breakthroughs, for finding cures and treatment for diseases, were directly from animal testing. Animal testing first began in 129 A D with a Greek doctor named Galen. Galen’s main focus for conducting animal testing was to advance the understanding of anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. Scientists have been doing animal testing for various reasons, from finding cures to diseases to testing makeup to see if the makeup is safe for human use. Animal testing has been good for humans, but not much for the animals being tested on. While many people do not agree with animal testing because of the high risks

Every year, over a hundred million animals are burned, poisoned, and abused in laboratories for medical, drug, food, and cosmetic purposes. Animal testing is the use of living animals in experiments for research. Therefore, it is cruel and inhumane to use animals for such a purpose. Scientists conclude we are similar to animals, as chimpanzees share approximately ninety-nine percent of human DNA, but drug tests given to animals does not necessarily have the same outcomes on people. The Animal Welfare Act(AWA) regulates the treatment of animals in research, but many laboratory animals are excluded from the protections. As technology increases, an alternative testing methods now exists that can replace animals. Many people believe we aren’t superior

It is estimated that each year over 100 million animals in the United States are used for animal testing (ProCon.org, 2017). This is unlikely an underestimate as it is impossible to receive a correct count worldwide. Thousands of animals are to be euthanized from the complications they endure from testing. Animals are used to test scientific developments and commercial products. New medical and non-medical experiments are tested on animals to verify the harmfulness of new medications or the safety of a product that will be used on humans. Although the importance of animal testing brings more medical advancement over the years using fewer humans in experiments, it is still an expensive way of researching inaccurate results and at the same time, it is a practice of animal cruelty.

Adversaries to individuals against animal tests, such as the Draize test and LD50, focus their attention on the component of animal testing that results in the creation of safe products for human use and life-saving treatments and drugs, not the ethical and pain aspects. These individuals believe that testing on animals is vital in order to experience continual success within the medical field, “The California Biomedical Research Association states that nearly every medical breakthrough in the last 100 years has resulted directly from research using animals” (“Should Animals”). Without animal testing, this side argues that we would not be as advanced as we are today on a medical level when it comes to both major and common health issues.

When people hear the phrase “animal testing” they tend to have many reactions. Some think that it should not be allowed, while others think that science could not survive without it. Many advances have been made in the medical field because of animal testing, and the process of eliminating it from existence will be extremely difficult (Ericson, 2014; Daston, et al., 2015). Due to the controversy surrounding the subject people might not know all of the facts. Through our research we have found information relating to the medical benefits, ethical problems, and ways to make animal testing moral. Understanding more of the facts associated with animal testing, allows knowledgeable decisions to be made on whether or not animal testing is needed and what could be changed. When more people understand the basics of animal testing and the different arguments and questions circulating in the scientific community, changes will come faster.

There are better alternatives to animal testing such as vitro testing and computer models. In vitro testing, people use test mean gods with models based on human cell and tissue cultures. Havard's Wyss Institute has created human cells that grow in a state-of-the-art system. They are called "organs on chips" that can be used instead of animals in disease research, drug testing, and toxicity testing. There are also varieties of cell-based tests and tissue models that include products such as Cee Tox and EpiDerm. These are used to asses the safety of drugs, chemicals, cosmetics, and consumer products. Another better alternative to animal testing is using computer models. A wide range of computer models have been developed by researchers that

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

There are twenty-six million animals involuntarily tested on annually, that partake in horrendous experiments daily, to test production safety, but people don’t realize that there will always be a human tested on first. Animals have been used for the last fifty years for medical and drug research, and are supposedly able to serve as “models” for the human body, undertaking the hazardous conditions of the experiments. Animal testing is unethical and inhumane, and alternative testing methods should be more commonly used, medications and cures should be tested with more than vivisection methods to be approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA), primates shouldn’t be forced into extreme testing conditions any longer, and animal subjects used for experimentation in

Throughout the years, animal testing has played an essential role in leading to breakthrough discoveries in medicine, products, and cosmetics. Animal testing has been around since the fifth century in order to aid in studying the human body. Ever since, it has become the primary method for medical and scientific research; however, animal testing also raises several concerns. When it comes specifically to testing on animals, there is a chance the test results could be unreliable since they are inaccurate, which can not only waste money, but can delay the process for important cures and products. Each year across the United States hundreds of animals die from undergoing painful experiments to better improve the medical field. Although many great discoveries have come out of animal experimentation, alternative methods should be regulated due to the lack of results, high costs, and moral judgment.

Animal experimentation has been an easy and ethically acceptable way to research and test medicines and treatments for humans since the time of the ancient Greeks. Animals opened the door for the scientists and philosophers of old to learn facts about the human body that were previously explained with magic and superstition. Naturally, science has come a long way since the ancient Greeks. Today, we have a whole host of medical resources at our disposal, which begs the question: Do we need animals in medical research anymore? In addition, the practices with regard to animals at thousands of labs across the United States have been notoriously vague for years. It has only been in the last fifty years that people have begun to question the necessity of animal testing, and the degree of freedom that lab workers should be given with these animals. Due to the availability of other options, the unnecessary testing of already proven theories, and the unreliability of results, it is evident that the rights and humane treatment of animals has precedence over their use in medical research.

Animal testing has been used for scientific research for many centuries. As consumer product development and medical science advanced, the rate of animal testing exploded. The testing procedures often cause pain and stress for the animal and generally result in the death of the animal. Even though animal testing is necessary for advancements in medical care, it should be discontinued because effective alternative testing methods are available, and the new testing methods are more humane and provide more accurate results.

It is estimated by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that over one hundred million animals are killed each year by animal testing. The term “animal testing” refers to experimentation that takes place before human clinical trials to determine the dosing, toxicity, and efficiency of products for humans. This includes animals being tested for medical research, cosmetic products, and curiosity-driven experimentation. Many times this leads to animals being treated inhumanely and has led to serious controversy over whether animal testing is actually effective. In fact, animal testing is frowned upon because studies show that testing animals are not a direct analogy to impacting humans, animal testing also kills an unprecedented number of animals, and throughout the year’s scientists have found alternative methods for creating beneficial products for humans.