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The Negative Consequences Of Stop Animal Testing For Scientific Purposes

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Mariah Antopia
AP/Dual III - Period 5
12 December 2017
Title
This is an opinion essay that will be written for scientists who are hostile about stopping animal testing for scientific purposes.
Animal testing is performed every year on millions of animals for the purpose of research into the effectiveness of drugs and treatment for diseases. Many of the animals that get tested vary from a wide range of rodents, to primates, to household pets such as cats and dogs. Today, general testing on animals are cruel, expensive, and generally inapplicable to humans. The world’s most innovative scientists have developed new methods for studying diseases which are safer alternatives for humans than animal testing. Animal testing must be stopped because of the negative consequences it creates. For one, by ending animal testing the U.S could save around 3 trillion dollars a year that are spent on testing alone. In addition, many animals could be set free from the suffering and physical discomfort that they endure while being subjects of human testing. Finally, if animal testing were to be stopped, then scientists could focus on testing that correlates better to human physiology. Experimentation using animals persists not because it’s the best science, but because of archaic habits, resistance to change, and a lack of outreach and education.
Aristotle was the first the conduct biomedical testing on animals in the years 324-332 BCE. Animal testing has helped develop vaccines for smallpox, polio, and even led to the discovery of Penicillin, the first antibacterial drug used by most doctors. Today, the majority of animals used for testing are rats and mice, but also include guinea pigs, dogs, rabbits and monkeys. The National Institutes of Health in the United States is one of the largest funder for animal experiments worldwide. Over 115 million animals per year fall victims to genetic manipulation, forced chemical exposure, and inhalation of toxic gases. (“Experiments on Animals: Overview”, par. 3) Since the 21st century, science has headed into a period of advancement that has allowed many older scientific testing techniques, such as animal testing, to be abandoned. Biomedical scientists have created testing

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