What Does It Mean To Be Animals Essay

Although some people believe animal testing is beneficial to humans, animals go through torture during the testing progress, and it is unethical. Marjie Lundstrom, a UC Davis researcher explains, “An incident at the University of California, three baby mice were found sealed alive in a plastic baggie and left unattended” (Animaltesting.com). This quote proves animals suffer during the testing progresses, and humans think the pain of the animals is okay. To clarify these baby mice were being abused and they were in an unethical situation. According to Human Society International, an undercover investigation site states, “animals used in experiments are commonly subjected to force feeding, forced inhalation, food and water deprivation, prolonged periods of physical restraint, the infliction of burns and other

Animal testing has contributed to making many vaccines, and saving thousands of lives. Experiments in which dogs had their pancreases removed led directly to the discovery of insulin, critical to saving the lives of diabetics. The polio vaccine, tested on animals, reduced the global occurrence of the disease from 350,000 cases in 1988 to 223 cases in 2012. (ProCon.org, 2013) Also Animal testing has contributed to major advances for treating conditions such as breast cancer, brain injury, childhood leukemia, cystic fibrosis, malaria, multiple sclerosis, tuberculosis, and many other diseases. Also there are no known alternatives for testing on animals because animals are 99% genetically the same as humans. (OpposingViewpoints.com, 2013) Another example of how Animal Testing has helped humans tremendously is that animals had helped create the inhaler, which kills around 2,000 people each year in the UK. (understandinganimalresearch.org.uk, 2013) Lastly, one other reason that Animal Testing is needed, sharks rarely get cancer, cockroaches can regenerate damaged nerves, and some amphibians can regrow lost limbs. By studying these animals people may learn how their body does all of this and apply it to human medicine. (amprogress.org, 2013) Animal Testing has saved many lives, and if it is not banned it will continue to save

If a drug affects the animals then it would not be used or tested on a human therefore possibly saving that person life. Not only do humans benefit from testing but so do the animals, “Animal experimentation is not only beneficial to humans but animals as well. If the vaccines were not tested on them, a lot of them could have died from rabies, infectious hepatitis virus, anthrax, feline leukemia, and canine parvovirus. Remedies for hip dysplasia and glaucoma were also discovered through animal testing. But the real highlight is that vivisection helped kept endangered species, such as the California condor, the tamarins of Brazil, and the black-footed ferret, from becoming extinct. This is why animal testing is endorsed by the American Veterinary Medical Association.” (16 pros and cons of animal experimentation, n.d.). This evidence alone shows that animals benefit from the test as well. They can go to the vet and get their daily shots and live a happy life with their owners. Without testing this wouldn’t be the case.

I can see why this is such an issue because animals are not humans but animals still have feelings. Also “Without animal research, millions of dogs, cats, birds, and farm animals would be dead from more than 200 diseases, including anthrax, distemper, rabies, feline leukemia, and canine parvovirus” according to Americans for Medical Progress. Still with all these benefits of these tests the way these animals are treated, the killings, and that there are other ways to test these animals we just shouldn't test on the

Animal testing is remarkably cruel and inhumane. Animals that are used for testing are put in cages and isolated. They are usually, they are taken almost casually, housed appallingly, and denied anything close to a life (Newkirk). These animals are trapped their whole life and are stripped of their ways of life. Not to mention that within some of these laboratories, universities, and every other place that animal testing is conducted in, researchers treat animals very poorly. In one place, "workers were caught punching dogs in the face, screaming at the animals, and even simulating sex with each other while trying to inject a frightened beagle" (Newkirk). Not only do researchers do those cruel actions, but some "experimenters force-feed chemicals to animals, conduct repeated surgeries on them, implant wires in their brains, crush their spines, and much more" (PETA). Some may say that this does not happen and that animals do not experience pain anymore due to new laws, like the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). But, the truth is, these "laws" do barely anything, if nothing, to help stop the cruel

Animal testing is cruel, inhumane, and causes many deaths. To start, according to statisticsbrain.com “There are 76,430,000 cats in the U.S. and 19,500,000 are killed in research each year.” This means that 25% of cats are being killed each year due to animal testing. In addition, P.E.T.A. says “78,294 animals are subjected to severe pain much higher than the average animal pain tolerance.” This means that the people testing the animals aren’t taking into consideration the pain they are giving these animals. As can be seen, most of the cats are being killed because of animal testing and animals are being subjected to pain much more than they can handle.

Some people argue that animal testing is necessary for scientific advancements to find cures and treatments. This is true, vaccines for polio and hepatitis B were used on animals and were successful. Thalidomide was also used on pregnant animals and it was found to cause birth defects. This is an understandable concern, however animals had to suffer for these advancements and it’s inhumane. According to the U.S Department of Agriculture, in 2010 97,123 animals

Many scientists claim that without animal testing, medical breakthroughs and research would not have progressed to where it is today. Some people claim that animals do not have rights and mankind naturally has dominion over them, making it acceptable to use them for scientific experimentation. This is simply not true. Animals can feel pain. They can suffer. One critic of animal testing maintains that pain is an intrinsic evil, and any act that causes pain in any other creature is morally wrong (Andre). A scientist should not be allowed to perform any experiment on an animal that they would not perform on a fellow human being. Animal testing is not only inhumane, it is bad science, and in light of other alternatives, it should have been halted decades ago. Millions of people still labor under the delusion that animal experimentation is the only way to test new medications, cosmetics, and household chemicals for human use. The media, experimenters, universities, and lobbying groups have propagated this misconception, arguing for the role animal testing has played in past medical advances and exaggerating the potential for it to lead to new cures (“Animal Testing”).

With testing, it is cruel and inhumane for us to use animals as our “test subjects”. “ According to Humane Society International, animals used in experiments are commonly subjected to force feeding(is), forced inhalation, food and water deprivation, prolonged periods of physical restraint, the infliction of burns and other wounds to study the healing process. The infliction of pain to research its effects and remedies, and "killing by carbon dioxide asphyxiation, neck-breaking, decapitation, or other means." (ProCon animal

Although, animal testing may have saved people from diseases, but at what cost. “All procedures, even those classified as ‘mild,’ have the potential to cause the animals physical as well as psychological distress and suffering. Often the procedures can cause a great deal of suffering” (Humane Society International, 2017). Humane Society International (2017) also listed out common procedures used in animal testing: forced chemical exposure in toxicity testing, exposure to diseases, genetic manipulation, ear-notching, tail-clipping, periods of physical restraint, food and water deprivation, surgical procedures, infliction of pain to study its effects, behavioural experiments designed to cause distress, and killing by carbon dioxide asphyxiation, neck-breaking, decapitation, and other means. Not to mention, all of these procedures are cruel, and the animals can feel pain that has been inflicted upon it. In fact, a majority of these procedures is considered animal cruelty. According to the NDAA (2016), animal cruelty constitutes as “physical harm or killing,” and animal neglect is considered when failure to provide food and water. Practically all of the common procedures fit into these categories. Despite how animal testing aligns with animal cruelty, almost all state laws exempts animals in research (NDAA, 2016). So, it continues. Another negative aspect is how animal testing is unreliable; Humane

“According to Humane Society International, animals used in experiments are commonly subjected to force feeding, forced inhalation, food and water deprivation, prolonged periods of physical restraint, the infliction of burns and other wounds to study the healing process, the infliction of pain to study its effects and remedies, and ‘killing by carbon dioxide asphyxiation, neck-breaking, decapitation, or other means.‘ “ - Animal Testing

Things animals endure while being a test subject includes: force feeding, forced inhalation, food and water deprivation, physical restraint for periods of times, infliction of burns and other wounds. Research facilities do not care if the animal is in pain and they don’t take time to give them anesthesia. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2010; 91,123 animals suffered pain caused by experimentations (ProCon.org). There is a certain act called the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) that is supposed to protect animals from cruel experiments, but the act only covers 5% of the animals. The AWA does not cover rats, mice, fish, and birds (HR and Beck). Testing that consists of rubbing chemical on shaved skin or dripping in the eyes can cause blindness, sores, bleeding, and death of animals. Even if the animal survives after the experiment the animal is killed (Motivans). Animal testing is altogether cruel and inhumane. Animals have to be tested against their own will. For example, when executing an eye irritation test, “the animal [a rabbit] is held firmly but gently until quiet. The test material is placed in one eye of each animal by gently pulling the lower lid away from the eyeball to

While many people see animal testing as a necessity, there are a few that stop to consider the truth. Though animals are different from people, they still have feelings. As people know how pain feels, it’s the same for animals. Animals may be for legged, furry creatures, but they are not immune to pain. They can tell what’s going on, even though people refuse to believe it. While they feel pain, it may be for no reason; scientists and animal advocates have voiced their concerns on how animals are not reliable for research. People and animals have different chemical make-up and the results of animal testing has hindered progress. What is not safe for animals,

Defenders of animal testing argue that experiments done on animals are justified because the benefits to humans as a result of the experiments outweigh the harm done to the animals. But the value of an animal’s life cannot be superseded by the value of a human being’s life. Millions of animals are tortured to death just for human welfare. According to the Humane Society, registration of a single pesticide requires more than 50 experiments and the use of as many as 12,000 animals (“Animal”). Animals’ safety, well-being, and quality of life is not considered at all. Another justification used by the defenders of animal testing is that many experiments are not painful to animals. This is not true as mentioned in “Pros and Cons”: “Because the U.S. law, Animal Welfare Act (AWA), which governs the use of animals in laboratories, specifically excludes rats, mice, birds, and cold-blooded animals, more than 95 percent of the animals used in laboratories are not even covered by the minimal protection provided by federal laws. Because they aren’t protected, experimenters don’t even have to provide them with pain relief.” Defenders of animal testing also argue that if animals are not used for testing, then human beings will have to be tested on. The fact is that no matter how many tests are done on animals, someone will always be the first human to be tested on. The results of animal testing can even pose a threat to humans because they are so unreliable. Still other defenders think

An estimated 26 million animals are mistreated every year in the United States for scientific and commercial testing (“Background”). Animals are used to develop medical treatments, determine toxicity of medications, check the safety of products destined for human use, and other biomedical, commercial, and health care uses. Research on living animals has been exercised since at least 500 BC (“Background”). Most of these animals include dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, pigs, sheep, monkeys, chimpanzees, rats, mice, and birds (“Harm and Suffering”). It has caused so many animals to suffer and die painful, slow deaths. The animals that are tested are forced to eat adverse substances, inhale harmful toxins, and remain immobilized so they can be utilized for experimentation. Not only do they endure painful procedures, they also suffer from mental abuse. They are locked up in scanty cages at all hours and are neglected by their holders. Animals should have basic moral rights to proper treatment. Another problem is the minimal protection they have with the Animal Welfare Act (“Harm and Suffering”). It allows rats, mice, and birds to be experimented on and consequently these animals make up ninety five percent of the testing population (“Rats”). Animals testing should not be used because it is morally wrong to harm an animal for another's benefit, animals may react differently to certain medication and cosmetics than humans, and there are other ways to do testing that do not include