When it comes to animals and their rights, there is a definite line between our needs and our taking advantage of those species that we consider inferior. As long as man has existed he has been carnivorous, and the same holds true for many other species of animals. Animals are a necessity to humans for survival, whether it be for food, clothing, etc. However, the unnecessary torture of animals through testing is not a necessity for human survival. When it comes to the needless torture of animals that we claim to benefit, the animals lives need to be taken into consideration. S. F. Sapontzis gives his theory as to why animals should not be used in testing. To start with, animals are not capable of giving their consent to be used as …show more content…
Following this line of thought, according to Sapontzis, experiments should be performed on animals in order to preserve the life of man. Therefore "experiments should be performed on animals in order to protect our species and enhance our lives" (Sapontzis 209). If this is true, then humans should have the right to do whatever it takes to better our situation, including taking advantage of other life forms that we consider lower than themselves.
In Animal Revolution, Richard Ryder writes, "Scientist frequently justify experiments upon non-humans in terms of the benefit they may bring to others" (Ryder 241). This line of thinking illustrates the idea that the sacrificing of one living thing is made in the name of science if it leads to saving of other living things. The problem with this is that animals- such as rats, mice, rabbits, even dogs- are being used to find ways to save the lives of humans. Once again, humans are placed above all other animals when it comes to superiority in life.
Ryder also writes, "Experimenting on humans might well produce far more valid results than do tests on rats" (Ryder 241). If this is true, the fact that humans continue to do research on rodents is absurd. Researchers claim that tests on such animals are needed in order to protect humans in some cases, yet this makes no sense if the data has gotten from these experiments has no relevancy to humans at all. What this amounts
It is no secret that millions of animals a year are used for medical experimentation. One study “found the number of animals tested rose from 1,566,994 in 1997 to 2,705,772 in 2012” (Casey). It is my belief that researchers use virtue theory to defend their experimentations. While animal activists approach experimentation through the ethics of care. I am against animal experimentation, but I will also provide insight into why people believe it is ethically just.
There is no argument that animals have played a critical role in medical research and paved the way for antidotes, cures and remedies for humans throughout history. Aristotle, who lived back in the fourth century B.C., is one of the first to be recorded as experimenting on a living animal. Back in the 1920s there was experimental testing on dogs which gave conclusive evidence to the functions the pancreas has on producing insulin. Before this, diabetes was untreatable, unmanageable and would easily result in death in humans (The Discovery of Insulin). Although testing on animals has been beneficial to us in many instances, there are several examples that prove testing on animals has hurt rather than helped the process. Many scientists argue that the physiological makeup of an animal differs strongly from that of a human resulting in different outcomes of drugs and other experiments. There has been a strong connection between smoking and lung cancer dating back to the 1960s, however all experiments done with animals failed to show
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” (Mahatma Gandhi). Scientists have been using animals for biomedical research for centuries. They provide a source to get information scientists can not get without harming humans. A lot of debate is spread about whether it is good or bad. Animal experimentation is a controversial topic because it is helpful to humans, but it is also cruel and inhumane.
are not able to give consent for this as would be required of a human. Other
They go on to say that animal testing has also contributed to human health through the development of “vaccinations against smallpox, measles, mumps, diphtheria, and tetanus; development of anesthesia, antibiotics, and insulin; use of cardiac pacemakers and heart bypass surgery; surgical advancements for organ transplants, hip replacements, and cataract surgery; and treatments for a host of diseases, including diabetes, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, and children’s leukemia” (www.cvma.net). Although the CVMA supports animal research, they only condone it if it is practiced under professional, humane, and ethical conditions. “Research animals are protected by a host of state, federal, and international laws. It is estimated that less than half-a-percent of research animals are dogs, cats, and primates. According to AMP, more than 95 percent of research animals are rats and mice bred for research studies”
To begin with, animals ' rights are abused when they are utilized as a part of research. Animals and individuals are similar in numerous ways; they both feel, think, act on, and encounter torment. Therefore, animals should be treated with the same dignity as people. However animals ' rights are disregarded when they are utilized as a part of research since they are not given a decision. Animals are subjected to tests that are again and again agonizing or cause lasting harm or even death, and they are never given the alternative of not taking part in the experiment. Animals don 't freely give themselves up for the progression of
People often use animals for a lot of experiments even though most people think that is it wrong. People make up countless excuses to why it’s okay to do this. But it is not okay. Animal researchers and such agree with my opinion that using animals for tests that we as humans would never want to do, is bad and very hypocritical, yet unfortunately there are just as many scientists who say that it is completely fine and that there isn’t really much harm brought to the animals. Mind you, these scientists have apparently never owned a beloved pet close to their heart. The two essays, "Animal Rights, Human Wrongs" by Tom Regan and "Proud to be Speciesist" by Stephen Rose, talk about the issue of animal rights, but are written on completely opposing
When discussing the issues faced from an ethical standpoint of animal rights it is important to consider the benefits animals bring to people and then question what rights animals are entitled to due to this (Fisher). Taking that into account, one must ask if giving them rights could possibly overstep on human rights and would animals even be able to enjoy rights (Fisher). It is often debated that the benefits and knowledge through experimentation of animals have led to life-saving advancements in the field of science and medicine (Fisher). The other side of the debate argues that even if these past benefits are justified, these type of experiments are no longer necessary and it is deemed unacceptable that wrongful treatment of animals is done for this purpose (Fisher). When it comes to the question of
Imagine having no rights, being treated crudely everyday, and constantly being in pain. That is how animals that live their lives in labs feel every single day. Many animals die from being tested on, “Animals killed each year worldwide for experiments and drug research range from 50 to 100 million.” (Source A). There are organizations like PETA (People or the Ethical Treatment of Animals) that are trying to stop speciesism and get natural rights for animals. Speciesism is “the habit of attributing greater moral significance to the well-being of animals.” (Source C). Animals have the ability to think and feel just as humans do. This only makes it right for animals to possess rights like humans. Humans should not hold themselves higher than any other species, “humans are inherently no better than or different from other animals, and should have no right to hold our own interests above the interests of other species.”
Over 100 million animals get burned, crippled, poisoned and abused in United States labs every year. Animal experimentation or commonly known as animal testing, is where scientists test their chemicals and products on animals to make sure it is safe for human use. Animal testing should be used because it's not only harming the animals it's costing a lot of money and animal lives.Animal testing should not be used because it harms the animals. Some tests involve killing pregnant animals to test on their fetuses. ¨Many of the tests performed on animals in the name of science, opponents maintain, are downright barbaric, rendering their subjects damaged and disfigured.¨ (Animal testing: Is animal testing morally justified?)With the amount of tests being performed
Experimental procedures allow scientists to try products on animals before we get to use them. Scientists believe that it is justifiable to ignore their interests for the greater good. It is noticeable that certain animals have been protected from being used in experiments, such as chimpanzees. Scientists acknowledge that the life of a chimpanzee is more valuable than the life of a rat. Animals from other species are used in experiments to make sure that the final product does not harm a human. We would not like to use a product that may result in health complications. However, it is important to know that animal testing isn’t completely reliable. Different species react to stimuli differently. Rats’ bodies may have structures that help to deal with certain substances, while we may lack such advantage. Thus, we may not be making a difference using animals, because at the end the product it is made for the use of humans. Human testing would bring better results, but one could tell that most mentally healthy people would not like to borrow their bodies to be used for such procedures. Also, because rats do not have a say on their life, we get to live and they get to die. It may be morally acceptable to use a rat for such procedures, since their lives are meaningless, but using humans would be debatable and
The concept of animals rights is based on the belief that nonhuman animals have similar interests and rights to those of human beings. It would be considered, not only unlawful, but inhumane to hunt, test, and use humans for medical research. However, we do exactly that to nonhuman animals in hopes of creating a better and safer life for existing humans. Do we do it because human beings, as opposed to nonhuman animals, hold a special place in nature? That human good is the only good? Or is because human individuals hold true to the “top of of food
In addition to the fact that animal experimentation is ineffective, unreliable, and costly, testing on animals also violates animal rights. Do we think that just because we are superior to animals that we have the right to subject these innocent creatures to cruel and painful experiments? The superiority humans feel over animals may be the reason why humans feel less troubled by inflicting pain on animals. Or perhaps humans justify this cruel act by saying that animals would not be used in experiments if their use was not absolutely necessary. The pain and misery these animals are put through is absolutely unjustified, especially since the experiments they are subject to are proven to be unnecessary and even pointless. As Ingrid Newkirk states, animals in the laboratories are "under constant stress from fear, the loss of control over their lives, and the denial of all
Animal experimentation by scientists can be cruel and unjust, but at the same time it can provide long term benefits for humanity. Animals used in research and experiments have been going on for 2,000 years and keep is going strong. It is a widely debated about topic all over the world. Some say it is inhuman while others say it’s for the good of human kind. There are many different reasons why people perform experiments and why others total disagree with it.
“Beauty without cruelty” is the outcry that can be heard from animal right activists around the world. The FDA does not require companies to perform tests on animals but if the cosmetic product contains chemicals that can be seen as toxins, testing becomes a necessity. There are currently thirteen safety tests that are performed on animals.