Rachel Pollock. March 1, 2017. Essay #2. Writ 122: Jennifer

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 can be thought of as the necessary evil of today’s medical and pharmaceutical industries. While there are other alternatives, such as stem cell research and testing, those alternatives are just as rife with controversy and are usually much more expensive. It may be true that animal results are not always directly correlative with human data, but it gives researches a solid groundwork on which to proceed. Certain animals are used for certain types of medications and procedures precisely because the systems being tested are very similar to that of a human’s. It’s hard to argue with such amazing results; human health and lifespan have tremendously improved in just the last one hundred years, and much of that progress is due to the

Every day, animals suffer for our own benefit. There are policies in place, that require inspection and registration of testing facilities, compliance with specified husbandry standards, and efforts to minimize animal pain, among other provisions. However, each day, an animal dies, suffers pain, or is held captive, and that poses an issue of justification. (Orlans, F. Barbara) Furthermore, research has shown that in various animal testing facilities, not even the minimal standards set by the AWA are being met. Under federal law, it is not illegal to burn, starve, shock, poison, isolate, brain damage, or force an animal to be addicted to drugs while undergoing animal testing.

Some of the world's most beloved and beautiful animals are exposed to brutal, intolerable conditions each day- merely for the benefit of human kind. In fact, over 100 million animals are poisoned, burned, immobilized, abused, and utterly stripped of their freedom as they undergo multiple commercial and scientific tests every year. These tests are physically and emotionally demanding on the most harmless of creatures, including dogs, cats, and rabbits. Animals are subjected to severe and intense situations where they have no way of escaping. The Animal Welfare Act saves certain animals from extreme abuse, however the amount of protection given to each animal is very minimal ("Animal Testing"). Because the Animal Welfare Act is unable to protect nearly 100 million animals in experimentation processes from inhumane treatment, commercial and scientific testing in laboratories should be banned when cheaper alternatives can be used as replacement.

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 experiments at leading federally-funded labs has increased nearly seventy three percent in the past fifteen years, according to a new study conducted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) (Casey). Animal testing helps to produce many vaccines and other drugs, such as penicillin, saving many human lives . On the other hand, animal testing causes lots of pain and kills a large amount of animals used during the researches that many people oppose this practice. In this case labs that use mice, rats, birds, reptiles and amphibians are exempted from the minimal protections under the Animal Welfare Act. Although some may think using animals as test subjects is beneficial to humans, in fact, it is cruel to the animals and there are other alternatives.

Today’s society is focused on the affects of diseases on the human body, and how to prevent the side effects associated with the disease. The controversial topic of using animals as research subjects is highly debated of whether it is necessary to save lives or inhumane to the animals. Every year, animals are experimentally used to determine the effectiveness, side effects, toxicity and safety of medications. Personally, I was aware of the testing being done on animals, but did not know much about it, and was therefore indifferent in the debate. However, after doing research, I have come to the conclusion that the cons outweigh the pros and animal testing is inhumane.

Believe it or not, many of the animals that are used for biomedical research and other forms of testing aren’t even protected. Meaning that many of the animals that are subjected to testing, the Animal Welfare Act does not protect them from such harm. These animals include; mice, birds, fish, and reptiles. Even the animals under the AWA are not necessarily protected because not all animals that are subject to testing are not subjected to what's considered “pain and torture”. To add onto the torture that these animals received, many of the tests done on them have absolutely no purpose in the end. The animal being tested on, for instance, may never satisfy the requirements needed in order for a product to be released to the public. Also, with a simple understanding of the principles of chemistry, it

“Many medical treatments have been made possible by animal testing, including cancer and HIV drugs, insulin, antibiotics, vaccines and many more” (Murnaghan 1).

Unfortunately, animals being put through testing face conditions that are extremely unhealthy. Animals are kept in unsanitary areas with little to no space at all. According to the organization Humane Society International, “animals used in experiments are commonly subjected to force feeding, forced inhalation, food and water deprivation…” (“Animal Testing - ProCon.org”). With no rights at all animals are being forced into harsh medical testings for diseases that can kill or severely injure the animal, such as polio. Through undercover investigation animals located in these labs are living “stressful, monotonous, and unnatural lives of daily confinement and deprivation” (“Animal Testing - ProCon.org”). Not only are these conditions being displayed in large laboratories, but also universities such as University of Oklahoma. During these experiments animals are being“fed chemicals, infected with diseases they would not naturally get, and are treated with no painkillers” (Animal Testing - ProCon.org”). As a result, medical testing facilities should be unable to be this inhumane to animals. Even though these tests may combat a widespread disease, animals should not have to endure this type of treatment at their own will.

Millions of animals suffer and die unnecessarily each year as they become subjects for medical testing and other horrendous experiments. Although some people believe such activities are necessary to progress in medical research, in reality it does very little to improve human health and development. For decades, drug and chemical safety assessments have been based on laboratory experimentations involving rabbits, dogs, rodents, and other animals. Consequently, nine out of ten drugs proven safe and effective in animals fail when given to humans. Animal testing is unreliable and unnecessary and there are more effective research methods out there that do not come at the expense of innocent animals ' lives.

Animal testing has been the go-to method for medical and scientific experiments for some centuries now and has its fair share of success in the past. However, its time has come to and it needs to be replaced with other methods. Animal testing is unprecedentedly brutal and inhumane, results from animal testing won’t always apply to humans, and modern technology has given alternative methods to torturing.

Animal Testing for any scientific or commercial use is a heinous action and should be banned because it harms innocent animals, it is an inaccurate representation of human’s response to products, and there are adequate non-animal alternatives that are readily available for use. About 100 million animals are being killed every year due to inhumane medical tests being performed on them. Mouse, rabbits, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, dogs, cats, and many more are all animals that have been used in medical testing. These animals endure slow, painful deaths by

There is no surprise when we hear that for years humans have used animals in their experiments for the benefit of science, but as humans learned more about the differences and similarities between themselves and animals the experiments have become more evasive leaving the animal being tested on in a deplorable state that usually leads to permanent disability or death. In the process of advancement, new and much more reliable alternative methods of testing have been found. Using an alternative method does not just save the animals but can also save millions of lives in the process. Animals should not be used in tests for scientific research.

Throughout the United States, animal testing has been allowed since 1922. According to Dr. Francis Collins, director of National Institutes of Health, there has been an approximate of more than 100 million animals tested on per year (Collins). Animal testing is important to scientists who create medicine because it has been proven that animals can be helpful for medical experimentations since there are many similarities between humans and animals (Collins). Within using animals as testing experiments, there are many benefits for the reason behind this; it has been proven that animal testing helps further humans’ knowledge about medicine and helps test reactions from the medicine that was created. However, behind the logical thinking of using animals as test subjects, there are also consequences for allowing this. The consequences may not impact humans directly because the animals that are being used as experiments are being taken away from their homes and removed from their families in order to suffer and soon die. National Institutes of Health states, “ ...more