Morality of Animal Testing

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"Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is: 'Because the animals are like us.' Ask the experimenters why it is morally OK to experiment on animals, and the answer is: 'Because the animals are not like us.' Animal experimentation rests on logical contradiction." stated Professor Charles R. Magel ("Animal Testing 101"). We all use some product that has been tested on animals. Something as simple as the soap we use every morning in the shower has been tested on an animal. But when using this product do we think of what the animal has gone through to put this product on the market? It is estimated that 150 million vertebrate animals and non-human primates are used for animal testing world-wide ("Animal Testing"). That is a large number of animals tortured and more than likely killed. Animals do not have a voice to tell us to stop, therefore an animal cannot fight back to stop something bad that is happening to them. We, as humans, should not be doing such an injustice to these animals. Although animal testing is widely used, it causes many issues because it is expensive, unreliable, animals are injured or killed, and other more humane alternatives are accessible.

First off, animal testing is expensive. According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), animal testing is a multi-billion dollar industry. That is a great deal of money used for something that is not exactly fool-proof. For years, organizations have used animals to test for things such as cures for diseases. However, many times these cures are not found and large amounts of money are wasted. For example, over 30 years of animal testing has failed to find a cure for cancer or AIDS. Leading cancer researcher, Robert Weinberg state...

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...be test subjects is cruel. Many times these animals are killed, and if they are not killed they are left in pain or disabled. Who are we to say this is okay? In brief, animal testing is wrong. It is inhumane to treat the animals the way they get treated in those labs. Also, the millions of test that are done take money, a large amount of money. Money is wasted on experiments that are done over and over with the same results. Nothing is getting accomplished by these testings except money being lost. When results are obtained who is to say they are correct? There are many differences between humans and animals which consequently makes a person question if something is safe for animals is in fact safe for humans. We need to take a step back and reevaluate animal testing. Although animal testing is commonly used, it does not mean it is morally correct or dependable.

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