Animal Testing Persuasive Essay

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“Over 1 million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned, and abused in U.S. labs” according to DoSomething.org. And although these animals may be considered protected under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) they are still able to be tortured and mistreated in labs. On top of all this, there is absolutely no guarantee that results and data collected from these procedures are accurate. Our anatomic builds are similar in ways but not at all interchangeable. Even though it has saved lives, animal experimentation should be banned because it is not a guarantee that these procedures are done pain free and humans and animals react differently to the medicines and chemicals used.
The strongest controversial argument against vivisection has been the pain inflicted on the animals used. "The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated." (Gandhi). This is a powerful quote reflecting on humans as a nation. People need to respect animals just as they would a human being. The discomfort the subjects experience is unimaginable and would be considered barbaric to perform on humans. So why animals? Because they don’t have a voice to say no? Because humans are ‘superior’ to animals? It is irresponsible on a human’s part to take these animals out of their habitat and put them in a place to suffer and ultimately die.

“Developmental toxicity testing involves giving pregnant female animals, usually rats and rabbits, doses of chemicals administered orally. The animals are killed just prior to delivery and the fetuses are examined for any sign of toxic effects by the test substance” (excerpt from aavs.org). The above passage is just one of the many heinous experiments conducted in labs. About 95% of small animals such as mice, ra...

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...in many of the same ways that humans do; in fact, their reactions to pain are virtually identical (both humans and animals scream, for example).” (The Body Shop). In an experiment called the LD50 test (one in which the testing chemical is pumped into the animal’s stomach until they die) the subject experiences excruciating pain such as vomiting, diarrhea, paralysis, convulsion, and internal bleeding. Being that the obliged endpoint is death, the suffering does not end by euthanasia. They wait it out until their body can no longer take it, which could ultimately take days or even weeks.
Conducting medical experiments on animals is a savage act and needs to be banned. It is cruel to the animals involved, it’s not always accurate, and with today’s technology we can create a better alternative. This act should be prohibited and substituted with synthetic subjects.

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