The Pros And Cons Of Animal Testing

It is estimated that each year over 100 million animals in the United States are used for animal testing (ProCon.org, 2017). This is unlikely an underestimate as it is impossible to receive a correct count worldwide. Thousands of animals are to be euthanized from the complications they endure from testing. Animals are used to test scientific developments and commercial products. New medical and non-medical experiments are tested on animals to verify the harmfulness of new medications or the safety of a product that will be used on humans. Although the importance of animal testing brings more medical advancement over the years using fewer humans in experiments, it is still an expensive way of researching inaccurate results and at the same time, it is a practice of animal cruelty.

The Animal Welfare Act is the only U.S. that regulates the treatment of animals used for testing. However, The Animal Welfare

Research on living animals has been practiced since at least 500 BC. An estimated 26 million animals are used every year in the United States for scientific and commercial testing. The use of animals for scientific testing should not continue because animal testing can be cruel, some animals aren’t protected by law, and there are alternative testing methods.

If people took the time to research the actual tests animals are forced to undergo, they would be appalled by the inhumanity of the whole process. There is only one piece of legislation in the United States that regulates animal testing in laboratories. The Animal Welfare Act, first passed in 1966, has not

Despite controversy over animal testing, according to statistics conducted by the Foundation for Biomedical Research, roughly 95% of all lab animals are some strain of mouse or rat. () Scientific researchers rely on mice and rats for several reasons, one being convenience. Rodents are small, easily housed and maintained, and adapt well to new surroundings. They also reproduce quickly and have a short lifespan of two to three years, allowing several generations to be observed in a relatively short period of time. Another reason laboratories use rats is in order to obtain genetic purity and consistency; rodents raised for animal testing can be bred so that they are almost genetically identical to prevent any bias in experimental results (Iannaccone & Jacob, 2009). What makes rats most

According to the National Institutes of Health, animal testing has been around since the days of philosopher Aristotle. According to ProCon.org, there are an estimated 26 million animals used for scientific and commercial testing in the U.S. alone. Animal testing has brought many good things to the medical world, such as the treatment various disease. Also, the animal is being tested by many cosmetics companies. On the other hand, organizations like PETA- People of Ethical Treatment of Animals have fought against the medical testing of animals. There are pros and cons that come with the usage of animals in the biomedical and cosmetic testing, and each side needs should be carefully examined before deciding one way or another.

However, most of the commonly tested animals are not protected. “Labs that use mice, rats, birds, reptiles and amphibians are exempted from the minimal protections under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA)” (“11 Facts”). In addition, many individuals retort that they would prefer using animals because if not, we would have to test on humans. As argued on peta.org, “The fact is that we already do test new drugs on people. No matter how many tests on animals are undertaken, someone will always be the first human to be tested on” (“Animal”). Animals are just being tested on in addition to humans. Its commonly argued that every major medical advance is attributable to experiments on animals. On peta.org it explains why that's not true, “Most experiments on animals are not relevant to human health, they do not contribute meaningfully to medical advances, and many are undertaken simply out of curiosity and do not even pretend to hold promise for curing illnesses” (“Animal”).

In 2014 a group organization called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) noted that more than 100 million animals are harmed or killed during animal testing. Animal testing is cruel and inhumane. Animals are being used for medical testing, but are not being cared for before, during, or after testing. Animals and humans are very similar, in that we have the same organ system which performs the same tasks in a similar fashion. Even though animals and humans share comparable DNA, we fail to see the similarities in physical and emotional pain that animals endure during testing. Subjecting even one animal to that type of cruelty, all in the name of science is one too many.

Over one hundred million animals every year die from animal testing, in the medical and cosmetic fields alone (“Experiments on Animals: Overview”). Animal testing is as big of a problem today as it has been in the past. Most people do not agree with animal testing today but years ago it was one of the only ways of testing. It was considered, if not the only, effective and efficient ways of testing a product’s toxicity. To date, animal testing is not warranted because of the development of new technology and past discoveries. Many organizations and brands publicly oppose animal testing. The companies that stand against animal testing are broad and diverse, ranging from medical to cosmetic testing, advocating that at its core, this issue is

Before a particular medicine or treatment is offered for human use, there are tested by scientist in animals to see their effectiveness. There are positive sides of animal testing.

Many think that with the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) in place, animals are protected when used in study, and are therefore not harmed. Although, it is known that nearly ninety-five percent of animals are not fortified by the AWA. The animals not protected include rats, mice, fish, and birds, which make up most of the animals used in studies. According to Procon.org, “The AWA covered 1,134,693 animals used for testing in fiscal year 2010, which leaves around 25 million other animals that are not covered. These animals are especially vulnerable to mistreatment and abuse without the protection of the AWA.” Although some experiments are managed, cruel and unjust treatment is still authorized. According to The Telegraph, “In British Laboratories today, animals are still burned, paralyzed, brain damaged, and given heart attacks and electric shocks.” Without the AWA and strict rules and regulations on experiments, animals are not defended against abuse and therefore have to

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.

Animal testing, although extremely debated, is something that should no longer be practiced anywhere around the world. Let’s start by taking a look at just how much animal testing is practiced in the United States as well as in other countries. The article called, “Animal Use Statistics” from the Humane Society International, says, “Only a small proportion of countries collect and publish data concerning their use of animals for testing and research, but it is estimated that more than 115 million animals- including mice, rats, birds, fish, rabbits, guinea pigs, farm animals, dogs, cats, and non-human primates- are used and/or killed in laboratory experiments each year around the world.” I find this to be very absurd and so wrong that this

Animal rights are not as protective as they should be. The topic of animal testing probably evokes images of animals being viciously injected or force fed pills. This is because it is the reality of what animal testing has been for the previous decades. Testing on animals for the benefit of humans is cruel and hurtful to the animals being tested upon. Animals feel the same level of pain that a human does, so why does it make it okay to test unknown substances on a lab rat just because it is smaller and weaker?  In recent years potential animal testing alternatives have shown up, yet it is still highly underused. I agree wholeheartedly that testing products and chemicals on animals for human gain is simply wrong. In this essay I will argue to protect the lives of animals by expressing how cruel animal testing is and how it is the wrong method of testing.

Animal experimentation has been in practice for over centuries. Years ago, it was extremely relevant for new scientific discoveries and advances in medicine. In fact, it has lead to some of society’s major medical advancements; such as organ transplant techniques, anti-transplant rejection medications, the heart-lung machine, antibiotics, and the whooping cough vaccine. Animal testing started as rarely conducted tests and procedures, but the practices have skyrocketed in recent years. As the experiments increased, so did the controversy. Although it may have been beneficial and relevant in years past- society’s morals have changed. The first animal protection law was enacted in 1822; the reasoning behind it was specifically to regulate animal testing. A group called antivivisectionists, meaning those who are against the act of surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, gained popularity in the late 1800’s. These activists believed that in order to achieve a peaceful society, mercy was needed and vivisection was putting a stop to this. However, this antivivisectionist movement started to decline in the 1920’s. It was thought that this was because of the achievements made in medicines in that era and the leading factor being animal testing. Since then, it has still not been completely banned; however it is still an ethical issue to this day. “Almost all states actively research on animals at present. The total scale of all research on vertebrates is