The Issue Of Animal Testing

“Lots of people talk to animals…Not very many listen, though…That’s the problem”(Ben Hoffman). The controversy of animal testing is phenomenal; it always has been. I remember dissecting animals throughout my years of school in the "name of science". It was only until recently that I started questioning the government 's methods to teach us. We dissected a dog shark in my oceanography class last year. There had to been at least 80 dead sharks in about four different buckets; that was when it crossed the line. I understood a lamb eye or something, but breeding sharks in captivity just so they can be killed? Animal testing is wrong in every way to me.

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

The issue, which is also a prominent controversial issue in the country, is animal testing.

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?

Over 26 million animals are tortured and tested on every year, in the United States alone. Most are used for testing medical treatments, which people for animal testing say has saved countless numbers of lives, but how many has it destroyed in the making? Although testing on animals has lead to major scientific breakthroughs, the way in which they reach them is incredibly inhumane. We having the ability, should try our best to stop this wide spread animal testing because the tests are inhumane, the animals are abused during the tests, and the results can be achieved in other ways.

Alas, as a frequently ignored and disguised problem, it isn’t often we look at our makeup bag and think to ourselves how many innocent animals have actually been harmed in the production of our favourite cosmetic products. However, it is sad to say that there is still a major problem in regards to animal testing in 2017; ‘why?’ you may wonder, and to put it simply, for the release of your newest, highly anticipated mascara or lipstick – when put into perspective this suffering seems surplus to requirements. The ‘Cruelty-Free International’ have confirmed this year that there are currently over 115 million animals of varying species and breeds being used for animal testing worldwide; and for whose benefit – well, ours, can our own benefit really overshadow the unethical mistreatment of animals.

Annually, one hundred to two hundred thousand animals suffer and possibly die due to testing for cosmetic reasons. (5) Animal testing was invented in the 1930’s when scientific technology wasn’t as advanced. Since then, cruel and painful tests have been performed on animals to test cosmetics. (1) Technology and science are more advanced now and alternative testing sources have become available. However, cosmetic companies continue to use animal testing for cosmetics even though it is outdated and unreliable. While animal testing is banned in some countries, some believe that it should be illegal for cosmetic companies worldwide to use animal testing. Not only is it is cruel and painful to the animals, reactions on animals may not be the same

For years, the French cosmetic company L’Oréal has coined the slogan, “Because you’re worth it.” However, a look behind the scenes of the cosmetic industry as a whole begs the question: is it really worth it? Over a hundred million animals ranging from mice, rats, rabbits, primates, cats, and dogs, are locked in laboratories across the U.S. and are subjected to chemical, food, cosmetic, and medical tests for human benefit (“Animal Testing 101”). Many of these animals are severely mistreated, and bear the pain of procedures gone wrong. On the flip side, products and medicines have been made safer and more reliable due to the positive contributions of laboratory tests. The issue has sparked over the last several years, leading many people to

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.

Animal testing is the use of animals in research experiments. The research is usually conducted inside universities, pharmaceutical companies, and commercial facilities. It includes research over genetics, behavioral studies, drugs, toxicology, and cosmetics. Those who are against animal testing state that even though humans benefit from animal testing it does not equalize the harm that the animals endure. On the other hand though, the people who support animal testing believe that the experiments are necessary to further our knowledge in the medical and biological fields. The source of lab animals can vary throughout the world, but some of the most popular ways are through animals being purposely bred for testing as well as being supplied

Choice between beauty (social pressure) and morality and ethics (products that test or don’t test)

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.

As previously stated, this photograph does more than just capture a surface level portrait of a twelve-year-old Afghan refugee. It provides crucial insight into the substandard conditions these people endure. Roland Barthes views images in this way by analyzing beyond surface observations, and seeing the message beneath the picture, or in this case, the girl’s facial expression. “Camera Lucida” is about examining photographs as an expression of something beyond the image that describes an event or happening, viewing the story within. A great photograph recreates a moment that can never appear exactly the same again, evoking adventure and question as to what has happened (Barthes, 19). If the image can tell its own story through the depictions present in the image without any words, then it is one worth remembering. The Afghan Girl tells its own story, a story of hardship and pain. The viewer of the image initially sees a Muslim girl with incredibly beautiful eyes, but upon further inspection the image begins to

the Beasts: The U.S. Should Ban Testing Cosmetics on Animals,” is a significant piece focused on the enormous lack of utilization of alternatives to animal testing in manufacturing. Loran and Locke argue that such alternatives are much more ethical as well as entirely feasible, due to the fact that they possess the ability to garner the same data that would be collected if animals were utilized in the experiments. Furthermore, the authors emphasize the necessity of passing several acts to ban the usage and distribution of products that have been tested on animals from the market in general. Although Loran and Lock assert

Animal testing dates back to the Greeks and Romans. Philosophers like Aristotle would dissect live animals to study the systems of the body. Backs then animals were thought to be lesser then humans because they could not communicate and they were thought to have a simpler brain function then human. So no one cared about the animals being harmed. The ethics of animal testing are said not to have been questionable until someone’s cow was stolen in order perform experiment on. Today animal testing is still used, but in less extreme forms. Animals are use to find new vaccinations and surgical procedures to help prolong the life of humans and other living organisms. Strict guidelines must be followed when performing test on animals because now we know that animals are not inferior to humans. In fact animals have been shown to be up to 98% similar to humans.