Since Ancient Greece, humans have used animals as means of learning more about the world. The first known vivisection was done by a Greek philosopher, Alcmaeon, in 450 B. C. E (“Animal Testing” NP). Since then, animals have had invasives tests performed on them, been killed, and been experimented on in the name of science or for profit. Some experiments are in order to demonstrate already known facts to students, others are to further medical knowledge, and some are to test drugs and cosmetics (“Animal Testing” NP). Scientific testing on animals has led to many medical discoveries. Animals are used, and have been used for millennia, in order to make products, procedures, and life in general safer for humans - stemming from the belief that human lives are more important than animals’. In order to moralize animal experimentation, people tend to draw attention to the benefits of animal experimentation and draw attention away from the cruelties and injustice committed towards animals. To lessen the suffering and lack of fairness of animals, people should find and use alternatives to animal experimentation.
Background Information on Animal Experimentation
There are many different ways in which animals are experimented on: vivisection, “the cutting of or operation on a living animal for scientific investigation,” dissection (examining an animal by cutting into it), exposure to chemicals, testing new surgical procedures, and various other experiments (“Animal Testing” NP). When
Experimenting on animals dates back to the roman times, but since then the animal experimentation industry has grown massively and is now a multi-billion dollar industry. Every year millions of animals are killed in laboratory experiments worldwide. Animals are sometimes skinned alive and left to bleed to death. I decided to conduct this research because I worry about animal welfare. There are many different scenarios in which animals are experimented on. These include Medical research where testing on animals is not aimed at finding cures but finding ways of improving treatments to reduce things such as side effects. Medical testing on animals has and will continue to help the future of medicine. Genetic engineering is the fastest growing area of the animal experimentation franchise, already there are thousands of genetically modified animals. Product testing is where products such as makeup
The debate about animal testing gains more and more attention every day. It is questioned whether it is ethical to test on living animals or not. Ethical or not, animals are the closest living organisms that have very similar structures to the human body. Animal testing has had a major impact on the improvements of finding drugs and treatments for our health and medicine. Both drugs and cosmetics are by law ought to be tested before being distributed out to the market. This law was established in 1938 when the U.S law passed the Food, Drug and cosmetic act. While searching to discover if my everyday facial cream is tested on animals I found that effectively it is. Knowing that the Neutrogena the #1 dermatologist recommended acne wash is being tested effectively gives the consumer relief of
Animals used in laboratories dates as far back as the 17th century (Unknown, 2015)6. When I first read this statistic, it was surprising because the amount of time testing has been around really makes one think about the advancements made because of that. Due to the amount of time animal testing has been around, two general groups have formed in response to this. The people advocating for it are commonly part of the science community or anyone that supports what science hopes to accomplish and then there is the community of people who would not want animals to have to endure the pain from being tested throughout their entire lives. In this paper I will be presenting two perspectives on the topic regarding the use of animals in laboratories. The first perspective will show how animal testing is extremely beneficial to the world of scientific research as well as to the world in general. While the second perspective will show how the animal rights activists believe that the animals being tested on should not be forced to go through painful testing procedures.
“People first started thinking of the ethics and cruelty to animals in 1714. It was not pet owners who first wanted to change the treatment of animals, it was the people who worked with agricultural operations” (Guither 2). The testing of animals is used all over colleges, medical schools, and pharmaceutical companies. It’s a fact that examiners experiment on animals for research on genetics, education, behavioral studies, drug testing, toxicity testing, cosmetic testing, and breeding.
Animal experimentation goes back to the 17th Century; its purpose is to use conscious animals as experiments where they practice the advances in medicine to assure a product’s safety before it is released to the market. For example, with the help of animal tests, scientists study new treatments for diseases in humans and animals. Must be remembered, laboratories in the U.S kill more than 100 million animals of different species a year when doing these experiments.
The idea of using animals in research has been a widely controversial subject for many years, is it inhumanity or science? Every being holds their own perspective towards animals. They may consider animals as machine-like creatures with no consciousness, while others view animals as spiritual creatures who have feelings and emotions just like human beings. For decades, animals have been used for further experimental research, as well as an advancement for cures and treatments of diseases. Many individuals have opposed the idea of using animals for experiments, claiming that it is morally unjust. Even though, humans have benefited through the use of animals in research, the pain, the suffering and the death of animals is an unbearable sight. Supporters of animal experimentation contend that it is necessary to assure the safety of cosmetics, pharmaceutical and other various products that will affect us, humans. On the other hand, opponents argue that the use of animals for one’s own benefits is not ethically or morally correct. This essay will follow the negative and positive aspects of animal testing, in an attempt to show both sides of the argument.
The world we know today would not exist without animals. Today’s medicine and amenities have made everyone’s lives significantly better, but the methods used to find some of these things are not so wonderful. Namely, testing products on animals. Product testing on animals has been used for several breakthroughs in medicine and how we live our lives, but is it at a greater cost than it is reward? Animal testing has been used for several hundred years as a way to find new developments in medicine; however, some of the means of this are terrible and animals are subjected to great pain and die in captivity.
Many controversies are going on in the world on a variety of topics, and one that many dispute on is whether animal testing should be used for specific purposes or for all purposes. Animals take a large part on Earth, since they help the world and the human race with its desire of advancement. Commercial purposes of animal testing uses its subjects to find the safety level of certain products for humans. Scientific purposes of animal testing uses its animals for improvements in medicine and treatments for humans, and research for animals. Many concern over the wellness of the animals as well, which is why they argue on some cases involving the testing. Animal testing should only be in use for scientific purposes, because it improves animal
Animal experimentation has been used for centuries for biomedical research. One of the earliest examples is Greek physicians such as Aristotle and Galen who conducted tests on animals to get a better understanding of humans and make advances in the field of science. This method of experimenting on animals is out of date in today’s advanced technological society. This discussion of using animal for experimentation has dominated societal conversations for many years now due to many reasons. This includes the fact that there are alternatives, it proves ineffective, and it violates federal law.
Animal experimentation has long standing roots in human history, specifically in the cosmetic industry and medical professions. Many could argue that humanity could not have progressed to today’s advancements without a heavy reliance on animal experimentation. There are some notable cases throughout history where such testing was undeniably beneficial, although it could certainly be argued that such methods were not always necessary. With significant advancements in scientific technology and medical practices animal testing should no longer be considered necessary or a morally defensible practice.
Everyday humans interact with animals. Whether monitoring animals in zoos or having them as pets, humans have engaged in either positive or negative relations with animals. Animal experimentation also known as animal testing has been highly discussed, because of the questionable experiments being done on animals, and the way animals treated in general. Looking at the history, effects, and alternatives to animal testing, human involvement in the lives of animals as well as the ethicality of animal testing will be confronted.
Animal testing, also known as in vivo testing and animal experiments, is using the animals for research purposes (soundearth.com, 2010). It is far predicted that each year greater than 115 million animals worldwide are exploited in laboratory experiments (HIS.org). The vertebrate animals are used such as mice, rats, birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, fish, farm animals, cats, dogs and non-human primates (soundearth.com, 2015). Half of these animals were genetically modified breeds while the other half were unmodified animals, of which 58% were carried out for fundamental research, 26% for medical purposes and 8% for veterinary purposes (theguardian,2015). Animal research has played an significant role in the major medical advance for both human and
These days, everyday items that we buy can come at a much different cost: animal experimentation. For so many years, animals were a crucial resource in furthering scientific research for human use. These human uses could be for make up merchandise, prescription and over the counter medication and how a disease makes an animal react compared to how a human has reacted. Even though some of these uses help further science, many of the tests conducted either are inhumane or simply do not work the same with humans.
Imagine yourself trapped in a cage, engulfed by darkness, the feeling of dread the only thing standing by your side. Every day you tremble in fear of what new twist those lab coats have in store for you. You lost your faith that you will be saved long ago and that your destiny is to die in this forsaken cage. This is what animals used for experimentation go through on almost daily. Throughout the last few centuries, millions of animals have undergone many cruel and stress inducing tests and experiments. Nowadays, many studies show that using animals for testing is unnecessary and that scientists should not have any real need for it. In this paper, I will show how the use of animals in labs is unnecessary by explaining the history of experimentation,
Using animals in research and to test the safety of products has been a topic of heated debate for decades. According to data collected by F. Barbara Orlans for her book, In the Name of Science: Issues in Responsible Animal Experimentation, sixty percent of all animals used in testing are used in biomedical research and product-safety testing (62). People have different feelings for animals; many look upon animals as companions while others view animals as a means for advancing medical techniques or furthering experimental research. However individuals perceive animals, the fact remains that animals are being exploited by research facilities and cosmetics