The Controversy Of Animal Testing

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

From when you are a baby to when you are an adult animal testing is used in your everyday products. From the Pampers you put on as a baby and the Johnson and Johnson you are washed with. To when you are older the Febreeze, Sunsilk, and Gillette you use.( Companies That do Test on Animals) Animal testing surrounds you in every act of life. “The guess is around 100 million animals are used worldwide in animal testing.” (Animal Rights) Animal testing is rooted from natural curiosity. How the insides of a living organism operate and look is an interesting idea. Because of the fact that dissection of humans was illegal by the Roman Church, animals were the second best option for knowledge of living organisms. (Animal Testing) The debate

are not able to give consent for this as would be required of a human. Other

Animals should not be used for scientific experiments. According to ‘Should Animals Be Used for Scientific or Commercial Testing?’ Animals are so different from human beings that research

For starters, this form of study hasn’t affected any mainstream and/or “useful” animal. Animals which aren’t used in livestock or other purposes are avoided, as well as animals with short life spans being detected. In addition to this, there are laws that help prevent animals injuries, or in extreme cases death. The Health Research Act of 1895 prevents any animal cruelty, or unnecessary testing. It also prevents experiments for cosmetics, or anything else that isn’t a necessity for mankind. To top this all off, any animal that isn’t used is let free,

Animal testing can go from good thing to a terrible thing in a matter of seconds. Animal testing dates to ancient Greece in 300 B.C. Greek philosophers and scientists practiced on animals to find scientific solutions and medical cures. The benefits of animal testing include pacemakers for heart disease, vaccines, and treating conditions such as a brain injury. However, the downside of animal testing is that it is cruel to the animals, can have misleading results, and ninety-five percent of animals are not protected by the Animal Welfare Act. Also, breakthrough results have been made without animals and alternative animal testing is cheaper than using animals for experimentation.

Animal testing is a substantial controversy across the nation. According to Rush, Catherine M. et al. “Animal Models to Investigate the Pathogenesis of Rheumatic Heart Disease.” Frontiers in Pediatrics 2 (2014): 116. PMC. Web. 27 Oct. 2016., animal testing has been around for quite some time. Her article states that “Animals have been used repeatedly throughout the history of biomedical research. Early Greek physician-scientists, such as Aristotle, (384 – 322 BC) and Erasistratus, (304 – 258 BC), performed experiments on living animals. Likewise, Galen (129 – 199 / 217 AD), a Greek physician who practiced in Rome and was a giant in the history of medicine, conducted animal experiments to advance the understanding of anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar), an Arab physician in twelfth century Moorish Spain, introduced animal testing as an experimental method for testing surgical procedures before applying them to human patients.”

Facilities that use animals for teaching, experimentations, surgery or testing purposes are known as research facilities. Currently, there are twelve animal research facilities in the state of Alabama ("General Information on Animal Research"). There are many different reasons why animals are used for research. Animals are used to test the products used in cosmetics, for biomedical research, for military defense and food production. Many people including the general public, scientists and government officials do not necessarily agree to the terms and conditions to which these animals are used for testing

A long time of debates go back and forth on the rights of all animals with further argument or debates, do humans have the right to use animals on medical testing and lab use? There are several issues that can be placed in this argument this research will acknowledge four important topics in the rights of animal testing. Is it right to use animals for testing? Is it right to compare animal DNA to human DNA in these animal experiments? Is it right to use real animals instead of computers to generate results? Is it right to state animals are being protected and cared for while giving toxins to make them sick? Therefore, the question needs to be asked if animals should be used for scientific experiments in labs all across the globe.

In 2012, a 24-year-old art student named Jacqueline Traide was subjected to animal testing methods in a Lush store window. Passerby – as well as the rest of the world, after this story was spread – were baffled and sickened by how this young woman was treated, enduring being pulled around by a rope, physical restraint, having cosmetics poured into her eyes, being shaven and more (Harris). She participated in this appalling display to portray the reality of animal testing tortures through our own kind, rather than other species, presenting the question: if this treatment is not acceptable for humans, why is it acceptable for animals?

The development of new treatments including medicines are distinguished for being time consuming, costly and complex. However, this timely manner is beneficial for society as it meant to provide an efficient and safe medication. Concerns regarding when animal studies are necessary compared to clinical trials has been a debatable topic among society. For over a decade, animal research has served as a fundamental component in many medical findings. Mousses are commonly used in laboratories, as we as humans share nearly 95% of our genes, making them a useful and efficient model for the assistance of discovering medications used today (Grant, 2017). Bench studies should continue to be practiced by researchers as

More than 115 million animals are used each year for testing (Akhtar). The act of testing on live animals for the purpose of scientific research is called vivisection. According to a nationwide survey of biology educators commissioned by NAVS in 2014, the use of animals as dissection specimens in biology classrooms remains a prevalent practice in the United States, with 84% of pre-college biology educators reporting the use of dissection as a teaching tool. The use of vivisection is carried out in middle schools, high schools, and universities. Animals are also used in testing for cosmetics, tox screenings, and xenotransplantation, a process of transplanting organs or tissues between different species . Many creatures around the world are forced into a life in cage where they obliged to endure painful tests. Along with the pain caused by scientists, many of the drugs that prove to be successful in animals aren’t in humans. Aside from all, animals do have the right to not be harmed although the Animal Welfare Act doesn’t provide much protection. Our country’s law refuses to find it necessary to use alternative methods which are also obtainable. Animal testing should be outlawed due to animal rights, ethical issues, alternative ways and its unreliability.

Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, or animal research, is the use of non-human animals in experiments. While most people think animal testing is necessary, others are upset by what they see as needless suffering. Experimentation on animals help scientists increase knowledge about the way the human body works. Animal research can also expand the knowledge of biological, medical, psychological studies, and has led to vaccines against smallpox, measles, mumps, and diphtheria and tetanus. Sources of laboratory animals vary between countries and species, most commonly used animals that the experiments are conducted with include: mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and dogs. The research is conducted in universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, farms, defense establishments, and commercial facilities that provide animal-testing services to industry. The earliest references to animal testing are found in the writings of the Greeks in the second and fourth centuries BCE. Aristotle and Erasistratus were amongst the first to perform experiments on living animals. Avenzoar, an Arabian physician in 12th-century Moorish Spain who also practiced dissection, introduced animal testing as an experimental method of testing surgical procedures before applying them to human patients. All animal experimentation should be outlawed because animal testing is unethical, inaccurate, and costly.

“Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures...”(Einstein). Every year, an immense number of animals are unwillingly subjected to testing in laboratories across the United States. If action is not taken, millions of lab animals will continue to die and suffer not only in America, but universally. Animal testing stems all the way back to the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Arabs, and has since then expanded into a global issue (Scutti). Currently, more than 26 million animals are used for product development and drug testing, as well as medical research (“Should”). Many, if not most, of these lab tests