Why Ethical And Moral Rules Are Important?

As of 2015, 200 to 225 million animals are said to used in laboratory research for the biomedical industry annually worldwide. Typically defended by arguments of reliability and human health benefits, recently the question of ethics and values placed on animal testing have caused it to become a relevant and pressing topic that has been more widely discussed and debated. First off, the laboratory conditions that are instigated upon millions of animal models for the sake of medical research has been said to be unethical and cruel. Additionally, it has been debated that the results of animal experimentation are unreliable across a wide range of areas. Lastly, animal testing not only leads away from the direction of resources from more effective testing methods but also prolongs the duration of time humans may need to wait for an effective cure. Therefore, the potential benefits of animal experimentation are greatly outweighed by the risks and collective harm of humans and animals which is why resources should be directed towards more human-based testing procedures.

Ever since the late 1960’s and the early 1970’s, animal research has been under extreme fire for what they do. This is mainly due to the many changing perspectives on the relationship between humans and the other aspects of the world that are surrounding them. There are many main reasons for this change, but the main reason is the different ideas that surrounded the use and exploration of animals in laboratories is what is being brought into question.

A life can be taken or created in a matter of seconds and with that has come the miracles of modern medicine. People have come to expect science to save lives, prevent illness, relieve suffering and improve the quality of life. The means of curing, treating and preventing diseases are not achieved by magic or accident. Medical advances are gained through years of intensive research -- research in which laboratory animals have played, and continue to play, a critical role. Opponents of animal testing are wrongfully determined that this process is completely unethical.

Animals have successfully been used to understand biological processes, assess safety of different chemicals, develop vaccines and antibiotics, produce treatments for hepatitis C, rheumatoid arthritis, polio, diabetes and many more . However, it is impossible to know if the use of animals was required to acquire this research or if the amount of suffering and death could have been reduced or avoided in order to achieve the same results. It is well established that animals have been invaluable in the pursuit of biomedical research, and the benefits from using animals currently means that eliminating animal research is also immoral. This is because the benefits received from some research greatly outweigh the potential costs to the animals and it would be unjust not to perform such experiments. Consequently, animal research should not be fully banned due to the benefits it yields, but should be more heavily regulated to reduce the moral costs.

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.

Miriam Rothschild once said, “None of my teachers, lecturers, or professors… ever suggested that one should respect the lives of animals in the laboratory or that they, and not the experiments, however fascinating and instructive, were worthy of greater consideration” (1986, p. 50). 95% of animals used in experiments are not protected by the federal Animal Welfare Act. This law excludes animals such as birds, mice, and rats that are bred primarily for research purposes. The Animal Welfare Act regulates the housing and transportation of animals, but no rule or regulation exists that restricts the actual research or experimentation of these animals. Animal experimentation has heavily contributed to the advancement of the medical field, but precautions need to be taken to ensure the safety of these animals.

These animals include in decreasing order of frequency: mice, rats, birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, "farm animals" such as pigs and sheep, dogs, primates and cats. The most common of these, rats and mice, are not protected under the AWA and no accurate figures are kept on the exact number of these animals that are used regardless of the fact that they make up 85-90% of all animals used (hsus).

Medicine has come a long way since 2750 BC when Egyptians performed basic forms of surgery. Every day there are new medical discoveries and much better understanding of the potential medicine has, thanks to animal experimentation, testing and researching. Both live and deceased animals are used for commercial or scientific research or educational purposes in a range of capacities. Usually, this is for medical, veterinary and environmental research. Although, millions of animals have suffered and been burned, poisoned, crippled, and even killed for the sake of humanity and medical advancements. (“Eleven Facts”). For example, researchers conduct “stress experiments” on rats and mice

Animal Experimentation for scientific research is a contentious issues and the subject of much debate. On one hand it is considered morally wrong to use animal solely for human benefit. On the other hand, removing animals, completely from the lab would impede any understanding of health, disease and consequently affect the development of new and vital treatments. Two essential questions needed to be asked is does it work and is it ethical?

Animal experiments or laboratory animal science have been a popular controversial issue. Since the seventeenth century, there are debates on the ethics of animal testing. The ultimate goal of the development of laboratory animal science, that is, through the animal studies of the phenomenon of life itself, and then push the use of human, explore the mysteries of human life, control of human diseases and aging and prolong human life. Nowadays, Animal experiments are permitted in many countries. In the other hand, there are also many dissenting voices. They said animal testing is ‘inhumane’. It is too cruel and has potentially dangerous to human beings and Ecosystem. However, Animal experiments are generally used in the development and testing of new medicines. It is estimated worldwide that the number of vertebrate animals using for animal experiments ranges from the tens of millions to more than 100 million used annually. And Animal experiment had made a great contribution in the field of science,

For centuries, the ethics of animal experimentation in the biomedical field have been questioned. The primary concern is whether the animals used in research outweigh the pain the animals endure. Animal rights activists will argue that there are new alternatives, which are more accurate than animal testing. The success of animal trials has continued the use by scientists within the medical field. Additionally, testing on animals eliminate harm to humans. The first Animal Cruelty Act was created in 1835 to regulate the use of animals for scientific purposes (Franco, 2013). According to Franco (2013, p. 256). the “enactment of the 1986 Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act remains the only known legislation to regulate animal experiments for nearly 50 years.” Even so, there will continue to be two sides of animal research. One side believes, without animal research there would not be the medical advancements and on the other hand, the use of animal research is unethical. Finding new alternatives may also be even more beneficial than animal testing. The medical field should seek alternatives to animal research or the methods are refined to reduce unethical.

Animal research has been going on for thousands of years. It is estimated that in the U.S that about 26 million animals are used for testing and experiments each year. Animals are used to find treatments for diseases, test medication, and test products to see if they are safe for human use. People might say that animal testing has help with the creation of live saving treatments for humans and animals. Others, like me, believe that some of the test performed on animals may be cruel and inhumane. In this essay I am going to show the pros and cons of animal research to get a better understanding for this practice.

Animals have been used in medical research for centuries. In a recent count, it was determined that 8,815 animals were being used for research at MSU, 8,503 of them rodents - rats, mice, hamsters and gerbils. There were 18 dogs, three cats and a variety of goats, ferrets, pigeons and rabbits. The struggle against this tyranny is a struggle as important as any of the moral and social issues that have been fought over in recent years." Animal rights are an emotional issue-second only, perhaps, to the bitter abortion debate." For decades the value of animal research has been grossly overrated.

The scientists make sure the animals are not in very much pain, the scientists make sure they use proper safe tools when doing the tests on the animals. Scientists are very respectful of test animals. They make sure that the animals are treated well and do not suffer at any point in an experiment. The scientists do all they can for the animals when it comes to actually testing on them. If they think it will be uncomfortable for the animals they give them pain killers to relieve the stress and the pain if pain is even involved. The scientists don’t do the tests with intentions on hurting the animals they do it in hope to save lives of many people or make life easier on someone’s life.

Animals have played an important role alongside humans for a long time, whether it be as our cuddling companions, humble servants, or amusing entertainers; however, the fellow fauna inhabitants of earth have had a more crucial hand in the advancement of humanity then one might think. About every medical advancement in the past one hundred years came about by animal testing (“Forty Reasons”). People are very dependent upon the research and the experiments done on animals netherless some want to ban testing on animals. Animals should be used in scientific research because the research saves lives, the researchers care for the animals, and the research is properly regulated.