The Pros And Cons Of Animal Testing

Each year, millions of animals are studied in laboratories to measure the toxicity of different chemicals and drugs. According to some people, animal testing is unnecessary and cruel. On the other hand, supporters argue that it is essential for current research. Today, I am sharing information I have carefully gathered with you. All the sources I have used to research are credible and contain accurate facts and statistics about animal testing. As consumers, is it important to know how researchers and scientists determine when chemicals and drugs we use are safe. In fact, most of the chemicals are used in our everyday lives such as; pesticides, vaccines, and cosmetics. In this speech, I will be sharing background information on animal testing,

Almost every medicine that can be found in an average person’s medicine cabinet has been tested on an animal at one point or another. A government funded corporation called the Food and Drug Administration, abbreviated as the FDA, is in charge of making sure that all drugs, cosmetics, biological products, and more are efficient, secure, and safe for human usage. The FDA will not allow any drug to be released or sold to the human population if it has not first been tested on animals. In fact, when a drug is first created it is tested on animals before humans are even allowed to test the drug at clinical trial centers. Whether or not animal testing should be done for scientific purposes, has been a widely argued topic for many years

These experiments are the direct cause of massive suffering of millions of animals. The most common animals used in these invasive procedures are “17,896 dogs, 3,713 cats, 358, 213 rabbits, 6,686 horses, 6,095 monkeys…over 1,000,000 fish and over 8,500,000 rodents”(“Facts and Figures on animal testing”). In fact, in most of these animals, diseases that affect humans are not even prevalent in animals, such as major types of heart diseases, different cancers, HIV and more (“Arguments against animal testing”, n.d). These diseases are artificially introduced to the animal’s immune system, in an attempt to mimic human diseases. The fact that animals cannot get said diseases, greatly affects the outcome in humans (“Arguments against animal testing”, n.d).

Despite most consumers beliefs, animal testing is still a commonly used practice. Despite this being common knowledge to the public, animal testing is a prevalent topic in the cosmetics and medical industry between activists and the producers. Big companies using animals in the testing phase of production will claim that it is an essential step for safety. However, activists argue that there are other ways with recent technology causing animal testing to be outdated.They stand on the viewpoint that animal testing should already be banned: “a no-brainer.” (“Cruelty-Free Benefits Consumers” 1). Animal testing goes back to the Greeks to when they performed vivisection which is the process of dissecting an animal while it is alive and can still feel horrific pain until they slowly die from being cut apart. While the laws on the testing of animals are no longer allowing such atrocious acts of violence now, laws still are not as strict as they should be. The regulations against such testing should be much more severe for self-care and medications; because animal testing is morally wrong, inaccurate science, and there are alternative methods.

In the United States, we produce billions of cleaning and beauty products on a daily basis thanks to the advancement of machinery. Although we have machines and workers, these products need to be tested in order to be available to purchase in stores. Instead of using machines to test these products, most companies enforce testing their products on animals to ensure they are safe for humans. To some this not seem like a controversial topic, but for many this is a heartbreaking issue that is cruel to the lives of our animals. Animal testing is not ethical because it not only harms the lives of millions of animals, but also isn’t an accurate way to ensure the safety of our products.

Through the years, animal experimentation has played a key role in leading to breathtaking discoveries in medicine, products, and cosmetics. However, what many people tend to forget are the numbers of animal subjects that have suffered serious harm during the process of experimentation. Each day across the United States innocent animals are used as test subjects for products that have little to no relevance importance. Animal testing has had many negative issues that accompany it in society. Debating over the animal rights movement has raised many questions and concerns for years. There is an ongoing controversy regarding if companies should stop testing their products on animals. Although animal research has been the cause of many medical breakthroughs, it is considered morally and ethically right to put animals in these kinds of situations. One of the most asked questions in society is: should animal testing be illegal? When considering how truly reliable the results of animal test are, and the expense of testing will help bring new light to the problem. By simply passing a policy will not only address this issue but will help better products and medicine in the future.

Animals have had a role in scientific research since the advent of modern medicine in early Greece around the year 300 BC (Hajar, M.D.). However, in recent years, a growth in attention and funding has led to an increase in the number of animals bred and raised for the sole purpose of use in testing. With this increase has come the division in opinion of whether or not scientists should continue their use of mammals and amphibians in their research or abandon such a practice for newer, potentially more accurate methods, such as free-standing human tissue cells (Ferdowsian). Regardless of one’s personal stance, it is hard to ignore the benefits animal testing has had on humanity. Testing cosmetics and medicine on mammals, for example, can filter out products which might yield a harmful result in humans. The utilitarian viewpoint cites benefits such as this. Animal Ethics, a nonprofit seeking to evaluate both sides of the ethics argument surrounding a host of animal issues justifies the utilitarian idea that “...the use of nonhuman animals can be acceptable only if the happiness their exploitation causes is greater than the harm it causes” (Animal Ethics). The opposing side, those who believe in inherent value, claim that animals should be given equal moral consideration as humans would, based on their capacity to suffer (Foëx). Both views hold merit, though as the cosmetic and medical technology industries grow, we as a nation must confront the issue of whether or not animals

Animals testing has become a cruel and repetitive method in the cosmetic and medical industry. Not only is the practice inhumane, but is also argued by many researchers and scientist to be ineffective. Millions of animals are killed every year in the United States because of animal testing. The United Kingdom, New Zealand and Turkey have passed laws in the last decade protecting animals from the unnecessary torture of lab testing. The United states needs to follow suite, enforcing improved laws banning cosmetic and medical animal testing. The use of animals in labs and research is a problem that has been happening for thousands of years, animals have been used for testing the safety of food and chemicals. Records as far back as 500 B.C. show animal welfare has been a low priority in human evolution. The testing researchers do on animals reacts differently on humans; consequently, they waste millions of dollars, time, and innocent lives.

Imagine a little girl that got a big cut on her arm and knee. She starts crying , a lot. Her eyes get all red and her arm and knee starts to bleed and she starts to get a black and blue. Animals are the same. It hurts them, but they can’t say or do anything about it. Just because sciences need to test animals that does not mean the people should kill animals that done nothing. Sally Driscoll and Laura Finley states “Did you know approximately 95 percent of the millions of animals used in experiments are mice and rats, with the remaining 5 percent comprised mostly of dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, birds, and non-human primates (chimpanzees, baboons, monkeys, and macaques).” In addition to research conducted by professionals and scholars, millions of schoolchildren dissect frogs, earthworms, and other animals in biology classes. A lot of animals die around the world each year , or months. This is bad. Nobody want to see a little animal get hurt. Juts like that kid that hated the shot she had to get. Animals testing should be banned because it is not necessary because they are other options, it is unethical because animals are living things, and it is not fair to hurt innocent animals for tests that might now work.

The use of animals in the medical realm has been prominent for a long time, in fact, it dates back to ancient Greek times. Although there are many controversies surrounding it there are those who object the use of animal experimentation in any research sphere including the medial aspect. Some argue that there is a need for animals in the medical field, suggesting that animal experiments are necessary for the advancement of medicine. Although the causes that give rise to animal testing may sound justified. Animal testing itself has given rise to those who oppose it, the animal rights activists. The use of animals may have been necessary to the medical domain in the past, but there are plenty reasons why animal experimentation should not exist today or nor in the future. Such as the ethicality of using animal, the options of a variety of alternative methods and lastly the questionable scientific accuracy of the research.

Each year over 100 million animals are abused and tortured by US labs. There must be an elimination of this testing because it is inhumane to treat animals in that manner, there is also different methods of testing products that don't involve animals, and lastly, many countries around the world already have taken the giant step in eliminating the testing.

and or cells, primates would be used during the experiment since it is the closest related animal to humans and it needs to be closely related to test on because of how specific the information reviewed from the experiments needs to be for it to work on humans. Although this is just one example of animal testing, some of the experiments can be a psychological experiment which does not cause any physical harm to the animals being tested on, such as “a rat learns to press a button” for the cause of receiving food pellets (Collier). This is an example of how not all experiments are cruel experiments that seem close of killing animals for little to no results. Even if there were to be experiments that would cause some sort of physical harm to the animals, animals will be euthanized in the labs with a some anesthetic so the animal “simply goes to sleep” which is not inhumane(Collier). To test mental illnesses, it would need to be tested on a deeper level than just an MRI, it would need to be on a molecular level, which is where an MRI on a human would not be able to work, but seeing it on an animal would which is required to get any results. Yet even with the reasonable cause, many scientists will face much harassment and threats from extremist’s groups causing havoc right in front of their own houses such as destroying property and yelling “truly heinous things” which does not seem fair or right (Collier). Everybody should have the rights to have their own opinions on certain

physiologically; Humans share 95% of our DNA with mice ( “BBC News”). With the help of

In the United States, 26 million animals are used annually for cosmetic or scientific research and testing. Animal testing is widely controversial because it could potentially harm the animals being used while there are alternative methods that could be used in place of animals. But, from a scientific standpoint, animals in testing are one of the main reasons we have been able to make advances in medicine and diseases. These facts make it tricky to pinpoint exactly if animal testing is good or bad (“Should Animal Testing Be Used for Testing”).

Research can be done in many ways. However, some ways are not as ethical as others,