The Morality of Animal Testing in Scientific Research Animal testing is not a new thing. For many centuries scientists and testers in research have used animals of all kinds. Most of the animals are small ones like rodents - rats, mice, hamsters and gerbils. Some dogs, cats and a variety of goats, monkeys and rabbits have also been used. The animal rights issue is an emotional one. For decades the value of animal research has been grossly overrated. Although researchers claim that they depend on animal test data to achieve medical advances, we should demand other means of research and there should be laws assuring a minimum level of animal protection because testing on animals is cruel, inhumane, and often unnecessary. The American Medical Association has stated that it believes that research involving animals is essential to maintaining and improving the health of human beings. They point out that all advances in medical science in the 20th century, from antibiotics to organ transplants, has been achieved either directly or indirectly through the use of animals in laboratory experiments. Arguments for animal experimentation may question the morality, necessity, and validity of these studies. The moral issue on animal experimentation concerns the need to protect human life and to improve the quality of life. The gains in human health and well being outweigh the cost in animal suffering (which nonetheless should be kept to a minimum), in this viewpoint. It would be immoral to conduct such tests on humans, and so animals serve as our stand-ins for many kinds of testing and research. Those who support animal testing may care deeply about animals but don't place them on an equal status with humans. Research on animals may be de... ... middle of paper ... ...n’t react the same towards drugs as humans would. This causes suffering to animals for no reason at all. Most cosmetics require test to be done to see if they will be safe for human use. How would we be able to tell if these products will cause skin irritation or blindness or even cancer without using some form of tests. Although there are many alternative to product testing, animals are most likely to produce accurate results on what the product may do to humans. However, blindness, skin irritations and cancer are all very severe and we should try to find more accurate alternative without having to torture these animals so much. So until scientists learn a little more about humans and technology increases more, we probably couldn’t do without animal research and testing completely but we need to try to keep it at a minimum and as necessary and proper as possible.
One must remember that scientists who carry out animal testing are human to and most definitely do feel some sense of guilt using these animals for the sole reason to benefit mankind. However, “if there were good alternatives to animals that worked better or as well, for less money and hassle, scientists would use them” (Source D). Many believe that animals testing is wrong, but they must understand that at the current time there is no other option. It is difficult to find a different practice has been so substantial and has improved millions of lives and society as a whole. Animal testing, though the testing on animals may not be the best option, the after effects of testing has been successful over the past decades and will continue on this path as scientists and researchers gain more knowledge. There may be a point in time that society becomes so better off that there would be no more need to test
Although not as strictly addressed, there is still a schism when it comes to the matters of experimentation involving animals. Those in opposition of it see it as being against the will of the animal, because animals have no say in the matter. However, through animal experimentation there has been vast medical advances in hospitals and veterinarians , research has led to cures for various diseases that would normally take many more years to cure, and the use of animals is highly ethical considering what could be the alternative, although there is progress being made to change these measures. This is how animal experimentation is of use to society for humans and animals.
In modern society, animal experimentation has triggered a controversy; consequently, vast amount of protests have been initiated by the animal rights community. Although these organizations have successfully broadcast their concerns toward animal experimentation, its application continues to survive. Sally Driscoll and Laura Finley inform that there remain fifty million to one-hundred million animals that experience testing or experimentation throughout the world on a yearly basis. But despite opposition, animal experimentation, the use of experiments on animals in order to observe the effects an unknown substance has on living creatures, serves multiple purposes. Those particular purposes are: research of the living body, the testing of products, and the advancement of medicine.
Over 100 Million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned and abused in testing Labs every year. Animals are used to test the safety of products, advance scientific research, and develop models to study disease and to develop new medical treatments all for the sake of mankind. Animals should not be used for scientific research because animal testing is inhumane, other testing methods now exist, and animals are very different from human beings.
Putting aside the countless claims that animal experimentation is unethical and should be banned, it is incredibly necessary and useful for mankind. Experimenting on humans is inhumane and completely immoral, while animals that do not function in the same way humans do should be used in medical research and to test the safety of various products. If animal testing were illegal, how would worldly corporations determine the safety of products? Surely the valuable lives of human beings are not essential to risk, hence the reason that animal experimenting is necessary. In addition, medical research would be in great jeopardy if were animals were not permitted to be experimented on. Medical industries have already come so far in treating multiple ailments due to the tests performed on animals. Alas, it is safe to say that for the continued thriving of our society, forbidding animal experimentation would be detrimental.
“If you want to test cosmetics, why do it on some poor animal that hasn't done anything? They should use prisoners who have been convicted of murder or rape instead. So, rather than seeing if perfume irritates a bunny rabbit's eyes, they should throw it in Charles Manson's eyes and ask him if it hurts.” (DeGeneres, DG). Think about those animals imprisoned in cold cages, having nothing to do but wait, waiting in fear, knowing that when the time comes their cages will be opened, but not to set them free. Unable to react, unable to defend themselves, they rot in pain and mourn with isolation. And yet all we, humans, do is sit back and watch them suffer. Animal testing is the abuse of animals to develop new products. Although some people are against animal testing others agree that animals are needed in researches to find upgraded and new cures for developing diseases, to find advanced aesthetic products, and to find refine household products leading to a more satisfying quality.
Approximately 60 million animals are used each year in the laboratories of the United States. Whether or not animal testing is cruel or acceptable is an issue many argue over today. Although most acknowledge the negative effects of animals in laboratories, there are many pros in the scientific research.
The testing of animals is rising from pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies because the companies are spending billions of dollars on animals testing in order to make products safer to humans. Test animals are also treated poorly and, because of how they are treated, the animals begin to act differently. The substances cosmetics companies inject into animals are very harmful and torturous to animals, so most animals end up dying or being severely handicapped from then on. Most of the findings and conclusions from animal experimentation do not end up working the same way with humans. Enormous amounts of money are spent on animal testing each year when there are better ways to put the investments for better benefit for our country. Advancements in technology should be used to speed up and improve the process of developing cures for humans instead of continuing to torture innocent creatures. Although animal testing is still being used, the European Union has banned it completely. There are many alternative ways that are in the process of being made but ultimately we need an alternative method that bans animal testing completely.
...ts on animals. China is also in the process of decreasing the amount of animal tested products in circulation as well (“Cosmetics and House-Hold Products Animal Testing”). Even though there are alternatives to using animals in this testing, companies in the United States still continue to torture animals for the sake of beauty. There are plenty more ways to experiment with products that do not involve animals in any way, and these tests also produce more reliable information. According to Earth Protect, Tests like this are often cheaper and produce faster results than animal research ever has. For example, there is a model of human cornea tissues that can be subject to eye irritation experiments instead of a rabbit, and there are models of skin cells that can be used for skin irritation tests instead of guinea pigs (“Cosmetic Animal Testing Facts and Alternatives”).
Is the use of animals in research justified? Should animal experimentation be permitted? Should these animals be liberated? A logical person would say the benefits justify the research. Without animal testing, products would be based on theory. No one would want to use something, which may damage eyes, be poisonous, cancerous, and cause birth defects. Animals used in testing are not from the endangered species list; also many of the types of animals used are killed each year by rat or mouse traps, animal control, exterminators, and animal shelters. Animal testing reaps great benefits such as finding effective drugs to combat disease, improve surgical procedures, and make products safe.
Every year about 100 million animals suffer through being poisoned, shocked, and burned for unsuccessful medical research. Some may believe that animal testing is a crucial part to medical research and should be used more frequently. Others believe the pain and suffering inflicted upon the animals is morally wrong and should not be done, no matter what benefits come from it.
Each year, thousands of animals are brutally tortured in laboratories, in the name of cosmetic research. A movement to ban animal testing for cosmetic purposes has been gaining popularity, with many companies hopping on the bandwagon against this research. New alternatives have been developed to eliminate the necessity to test on animals. This is only a small beginning of what is necessary to end these immoral acts. Animal testing in cosmetics is useless and cruel, and can be accomplished by other methods of research to end the suffering of animals.
The practice of using animals for testing has been a controversial issue over the past thirty years. Animal testing is a morally debated practice. The question is whether animal testing is morally right or wrong. This paper will present both sides of this issue as well as my own opinion.
It still comes as a surprise to me that with all the technology in today’s society, we are still relying on animals for cosmetic research. Some people think that it is acceptable and even justified to test on mere animals rather than risk hurting people. So, for these kinds of people, animal testing makes perfect sense. However, in my opinion, animals are living creatures and have the right to live out their lives as nature intended rather than simply surviving in cages while being poked and prodded with whatever scientists fancy. I think it is depressing and sort of grotesque that I am using products that have been tested on animals that are even commonly bred as our pets. So, I began my research to find out what companies still test on animals, why they do so, and what other alternatives they could use in place of animal testing.
Animal testing is a controversial subject, due to concerns over how animals are treated, and whether testing on animals is necessary or useful. However, when all points are considered, animal testing is fair for the following three reasons: it leads to medical and scientific breakthroughs; they are similar to humans in many different ways, and therefore provide a way to conduct medical research without risking human safety; and there are laws and regulations in place that ensure that many forms of animal testing are conducted humanely.