Human Testing : The Benefits Of Animal Testing

In our ever-changing world the race to find the best technological advancements has never been higher. Progress within the medical field has changed drastically in the last 50 years. “Health is driven by the technologies that cure the unhealthy. These technologies need to advance along with an advancing society. In the last five decades new and improved, less expensive, medicine has been produced” (Leonard). Behind all this advanced medicine are the technologies, or creatures, that are used to test and improve the medicine. Animals are used to test the drugs and medicine that are in route to be produced for human use. “The term "Animal Testing" refers to procedures performed on living animals for purposes of research into basic biology and diseases, assessing the effectiveness of new medicinal products” (Humane Society). There are people who side with, and agree that animal testing improves the lives of humans, and there are individuals who believe the harm this research brings to animals is unreasonable and can be prevented.

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.

The use of animals in scientific research has hugely increased in the last few years. A research conducted by Dr. Hadwen Trust suggests that approximately 115 millions animals are used in scientific experimentation every year (qtd in “Fact and figures”). Animal testing, also known as animal vivisection, is a process before human clinical trials, where animals are used in experiments to determine toxicity, dosing and efficacy of drugs (Biology dictionary). Although some scientists argue that animal testing is necessary to ensure safety, animal testing is unreliable, dangerous and unnecessary.

Animal testing has its benefits towards human health. Improvement in health of the human race involves animal testing. Cancer, asthma, polio, TB, meningitis, smallpox, and the human papilloma virus (HPV) all have treatments that have come from animal testing. As a result of animal testing many people would be dying or suffering from the disease. Although, many people believe animals should not be used for animal testing.

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 risen as an extremely controversial topic among scientists and animal rights activists. Many see it as a necessary part of finding cures for thousands of diseases. On the other hand, animal rights activists believe it is an inhumane, harsh, and unnecessary flaw in science. The argument can go back and forth but I believe animal testing should not be used in today’s technically advanced era. The laws are flawed, the failures are evident, and the available alternatives prove that animal testing should be indefinitely banned for future science experiments.

Animal testing is used to see the effects of products before the products are put up for human consumption. With this testing, thousands and thousands of animals are kept in cages and subjected to pain and isolation every year. Even though these animals endure this extreme pain for the safety of humans, results are rarely the same in animals as they are in humans. Even though animal testing is deemed as bad science, people say that every major medical advance is because of animal testing. This is not true, since we have vaccines, CAT scans, MRI, and many more advances that are not due to animal testing. Do we even need animal testing? Animal testing is misleading, cruel, archaic, and is not essential to medical research.

The medication you are taking was tested on animals. It might save your life and it may save even the animals’ life. Are you for or against animal testing? What is animal testing? Animal testing is a phrase that most people have heard but are perhaps still unsure of exactly what is involved. Whether it is called animal testing, animal experimentation or animal research, it refers to the experimentation carried out on animals. It is used to assess the safety and effectiveness of medicine, and understanding how the human body works. The use of animals in scientific research continues to play a vital part developing improvements in healthcare and the environment. The opportunities presented by scientific advances are used to replace or reduce animal use, and to refine procedures to minimise suffering. Animal testing is a controversial subject. Because it is so controversial, the biases that exist on either side can skew the accurate definition. Those who support animal testing may define it as experimentation that uses animals to benefit humans, where it saves lives and provides vital medical treatments. Animal research has enabled to find treatments for cancer, antibiotics for infections, vaccines to prevent some of the most deadly and debilitating viruses and surgery for injuries, illnesses and deformities.

As the number of animals being used in animal testing goes up, many people pose a concern about the subject. There are around 100 million animals that are killed in the United States each year alone in animal testing (“Experiments”). These animals are tested for medical training, chemical, drug, food, cosmetics, biology lessons, and even curiosity driven experiments Animals including cats, dogs, rats, guinea pigs, monkeys, and many others are used. Alternative testing options are ways that scientists can still study and research different things while also saving the lives of animals that are used in animal testing everyday. Even though many people depend on animal testing to discover different cures

Long term thinking and the invention of new technologies and cures as result of animal testing could possibly be more beneficial for the world as a whole, while short term thinking that views hurting animals for possibly no beneficial outcome would benefit the individual animals that are being tested

Animal testing is an experiment used in science where animals are alive and are forced to go through pain and distress. Animals are being tested constantly in laboratories where they stay in cold cages. Humans believe that animal testing is beneficial because animals are put to the test to develop medicines such as Abilify that treats schizophrenia and bipolar disorder where the drug is tested on rats, dogs, monkeys, and rabbits, furthermore, animals are also tested for cosmetics, for instance, Maybelline. Testing on animals is not necessary because it causes suffering, it is unethical, and it has been unsuccessful for human medicine.

“Over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned, and abused in US labs every year” (11 Facts). Animal testing is a very flawed creation in today’s world. This innovation has caused much harm to many animals while also hurting the opinions of animal activists around the world. Animal testing is also known as the use of animals in experiments and development projects usually to determine toxicity, dosing and efficacy of test drugs before proceeding to human clinical trials (Biology Online). The use of animal testing has been around for throughout all of history, it also carries its disadvantages as they diminish the lives of many animals along with their unspoken opinion while also having some advantages, and lastly this notion is very expensive (Scutti).

Animal testing is first and for most pointless and a waste of time and money. After the passing of an animal trial, there must always be human trials as well. Since animal testing is unreliable, the real testing still solely relies on the human tests. This demonstrates that this method is unnecessary. Greek and Greek argue that “those who say we test on animals to avoid testing on people are wrong. Once animal studies are complete, all new medications are evaluated on humans. The first people to take a new substance are being experimented on as surely as if they were guinea pigs locked in a laboratory” (59). In addition to that, the 21st century has brought many new advances in technology and science and because we have these new advances, animal testing now is completely unnecessary. Bif Naked states, “It doesn't just make sense for animals, but for people, too, because state-of-the-art non-animal tests offer a far more reliable way to predict how consumers like you or me will react to a product in the real world.” While many of these method have not been explored fully, they are still extremely promising, less harmful, cheaper, and produce more accurate results. Rachel Rutter states, “Effective, affordable, and humane research methods include studies of human populations, volunteers, and patients, as well as sophisticated in vitro, genomic, and computer-modeling techniques.” None of these methods

Animal testing has long played a part in the science of testing, and it still plays a very important role in the medical world. Testing on animals in order to create a cure for AIDS is one thing, but testing on animals for human vanity is another. Animal testing is used to test the safety of a product. It has kept some very unsafe substances out of the cosmetic world. However, in this day in age, animal testing is not the only way to test the safety of a product. Animal testing in cosmetics has decreased over the years. However, it is still used by many companies in America. Animal testing is not only cruel, but it is also unnecessary in today’s advanced scientific world.

Needles have punctured your skin, and you’ve drawn in an unknown gas so now you’re in panic and fear invades you. You are a creature, a mouse, who is being used for scientific experiments. The people who are doing the experiments have taken advantage of your ability to not being able to fight back and all you can do is wish for something to change. For centuries people have been using animals to experiment on, although there are benefits there are also problems. While people in the cosmetic industry learn to not use the creatures, what are scientists doing? Animals have been forced into suffering from experiments they unwillingly went into and we need to slow down on our use of the creatures without completely eliminating the experiments at once.