Why Should Animals Be Used For Medical Research?

Worldwide, there has always been a plethora of issues concerning whether animals should or should not be used for biomedical research. There are some advocating for the best and most-advanced medicine for the people; with disregard for the animal’s health. They believe people’s needs should be the first concern. However, others put the animal’s health first. If the animal is not in safe conditions, then it does not matter what medicine advances might be discovered. Biomedical research is defined as “The application of the natural sciences, especially the biological and physiological sciences, to clinical medicine” (“Biomedicine.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/biomedical.). Without biomedical research on animals, modern medicine would not exist. Animal testing has enabled the findings of treatments for cancer, antibiotics for infections, and preventatives for illnesses. For these reasons, animal testing should be used in the process of developing biomedical research.

Animal experimentation is used widely across the world. Millions of animals are put through horrifying experiments all for research purposes. This is because it is thought by many people that animal experimentation for research purposes is the best technique to gain knowledge on diseases and find cures, which is not true. Whatever goes on beyond laboratory walls has no limit. Famed primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall stated, “In no lab I have visited have I seen so many chimpanzees exhibit such intense fear. The screaming I heard when chimpanzees were being forced to move toward the dreaded needle in their squeeze cages was, for me, absolutely horrifying.” This quote is an example of on of the horrific things that can be seen behind laboratory walls. The animals there are kept in barred or concrete cages. They sit in their cage, suffering from pain, loneliness, and stress, waiting for the next painful experiment to take place. After, being put through pain, loneliness and terror the animals are usually killed when they are done being used. Experimenting on animals is wrong in many ways. It goes against animal rights, the results are not reliable to humans; making it a waste of time and money, and it causes a great deal of unnecessary pain for animals. With that being said, animals should not be used to experiment on for research purposes.

As we discover treatments for diseases such as rabies, feline leukemia, tetanus, anthrax, and much more, animals also bear the advantage of protection. In fact, humans share hundreds of diseases with animals. We also share similar organs allowing scientists to use animals as an essential model for the study of illnesses. Therefore, the work researchers perform sets a platform for an end result where both parties benefit. It can thus be concluded that those against animal research are covered by a counterintuitive notion because, without animal research, the animals whom they are fighting for would die due to a potentially curable disease. To deal with the ethical dilemma of animal research, countries like the United Kingdom have placed regulations that require the research scientists to show how and if they have considered alternative ways before they are given a license to continue with their research projects. Given these circumstances, we can conclude that the rise in animals used in research must mean that in the near future there may be major medical

In discussion of animal rights, one controversial issue has been whether or not animals should be use for medical testing. On the one hand, some scientists argue that animal testing has contributed for many cures and treatments. On the other hand, animal rights activist contends that alternative methods now exist that can replace the need for animals. Others even maintain that animal testing is an essential part in medical research. My own view is that animals should not be used in medical testing because is no longer necessary now there are methods that are safer and have better results than animals do.

Throughout the years the use of animals in medical research has been a hot debate around the world. Although animal testing may be cruel and inhumane, thousands of humans are saved thanks to the research that animals supply researchers with. Animals testing have taken over our knowledge of medicine and treatments to a whole different level. Animal testing also does this in a cheap and effective way. Without animals testing out knowledge wouldn’t be up to date, in other words animals’ testing is good.

Animal Research is topic that is highly debated by several people, especially those in the medical and the vet world. Why is this such a debatable topic to individuals? Many people consider animal research to cruel and inhumane, and others believe that it is for the greater good to help find cures for humans. Ron Karpati, a former pediatrician and who is now a medical researcher, agrees that animal research is used for the greater good even though it inflicts pain on animals. Karpati wrote an article called, “ I am the Enemy,” and in this article he states several points that prove his belief on animal research.

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.

Biomedical research is vital to the human race as it allows a wider range of results for scientists to work with. Experiments conducted with animal experimentation resulted in the development of treatments for many once thought incurable. Most of our basic medical knowledge was taught from late biomedical research experiments. Two associations such as AWA and APHIS are dedicated towards the humane use of animals in biomedical research. AWA or the Animal Welfare Act ensures the welfare of the animals and APHIS Plant Health Inspection Service is the enforcer for AWA’s provisions. The leading argument of the opposition is that animal testing is cruel and inhumane as it is not necessary research. However, the research isn’t required, it is vital towards a steady increase in our search for medical cures.

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.

“Almost every illness has been resolved in the past decade because of animal research. In the name of animal research, present day surgeries are now perfected because they were once performed on sick animals. Herceptin was created by extracting mice protein and humanized them to help women with breast cancer” (Lloyd).

Stated by Mahatma Gandhi, “The greatness of the nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. Medical research on animals is an effective way for scientist to test different medical discoveries and experiment before using them on humans to check their result. This technique has been used for centuries dating back to people such and Aristotle and Erasistratus. What exactly is medical research on animals? When we take a deeper look into the experiment that are preformed we can conclude that animals are a living model of humans in these laboratories. It is a necessity to harm and test animals with new drugs in order to market them in the medical industry to aid human illnesses. In order to better comprehend and regulate drugs one must understand what medical research on animals is described as and its benefits to pharmaceutical companies for humans. Exposure to the trials and tribulations that animal testing reveals how important it is for scientists to understand the negative effects they contribute to an animal’s welfare and life. In contrary animal testing has been used to save many human lives from consuming or using a drug that could have caused them life threatening illnesses.

In present-day society, the ongoing intention about the importance of animals testing has been in discussion among humans and animals. There are advocates who support the cruel role of this act whilst the opponents are not favored using animals for research. In my opinion, although I believe that animals testing reserves a vital part in medical developments, people should have animal rights.

Some people support animal experiment and believed the results of those testings can ease human suffering and improve the quality of human life (Kruse, 2001). Many medical achievements in the past century have depended directly or indirectly on animal researches. The develop of the treatment of diabetes, leukaemia and heart surgery transplants have been made possible largely through the use of animals in scientific researches. And 90% of the public accepted the need for the use of animals when certain research conditions were met, including no unnecessary pain and suffering of animals, the research is for serious medical or life-saving purposes, and there is no reliable and informative alternative to the testing. All researches needed to

A lot has been discovered by experimenting on animals in order to find ways humans to fight against various diseases and other medical problems. The earliest writings on animal experimentation have been found as early as 500 B.C in Greece; where animals have been operated on to determine the anatomy of the human body and other medical reasons. It is estimated that 26 million animals are used for animal testing every year in the U. S alone in order for to conduct research. The need of further suffering of animals is now unnecessary because of our understanding of sciences and technology is far more advanced to allow the use of alternative ways to accomplish similar if not better results in medical research. People would say that

For the past 20 years, there has a been an on going heated debate on whether experiments on animals for the benefit of medical and scientific research is ethical. Whether it is or isn't, most people believe that some form of cost-benefit test should be performed to determine if the action is right. The costs include: animal pain, distress and death where the benefits include the collection of new knowledge or the development of new medical therapies for humans. Looking into these different aspects of the experimentation, there is a large gap for argument between the different scientists' views. In the next few paragraphs, both sides of the argument will be expressed by the supporters.