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Animal Testing

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Have you ever used Purell hand sanitizer? Have you ever used Herbal Essence, Pantene, Coppertone, or Dove products? Have you ever used a Band-Aid? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you have consumed a product that has been tested on animals. Animal testing is a phrase that many people may come into contact with, but are unsure of what it really means. Some individuals have very misguided notions of what they believe it is. They think it deals with torturing helpless animals. What is animal testing? It is the use of non-human animals in experiments and lab settings.
Now that you know that those brands use animal testing and have a better understanding of what animal testing is, do you vow to stop using those products because you are strongly against animal experimentation? If you answered yes, then you’re also going to have to stop using Clearasil, Crest, Febreeze, Neutrogena, Tide, and a ton of other merchandises. In the interest of preserving human health and progress, government should continue to allow strictly monitored and regulated animal testing because it is the best alternative to human testing, is essential for safety reasons, and is beneficial to advancing biological and medical knowledge Don’t be fooled when products claim to be “cruelty free” or “not tested on animals”, because although this claim may refer to the final product, many of the ingredients have in fact been tested on animals. Animal testing has been and will probably continue to be a very controversial issue where both sides are passionate in what they believe in. Let’s face it, animal experimentation is integral to our everyday lives. “A survey conducted in the American Medical Association indicates that 99% of all active physicians in the United States believe that animal research has given rise to medical advancements. In fact, about 97% of the physicians also supported the continuous use of animals for clinical and basic research” (Shandilya). The products that animals are used to test for are mainly focused on human consumerism. The best way to test products would be to test them on humans, but this is out of the question because it crosses so many lines and is inhumane and unethical. Therefore, the next best thing to humans would be animals. The life span of animals is short as compared to humans, so it’s much more efficient and faster to evaluate the potential effects of a certain product. Animals are the best substitute because computer models are not advanced enough and are unable to predict unknown variables. Testing on plants is much less applicable to humans because their body systems are not structured the same way and the test results would be useless and inadequate. Animals are similar to humans in many ways and “studying animal reactions can help predict how humans will react to a substance” (Richards). In most countries, it is required that all drugs and vaccines are tested on animals to ensure its safety before being administered to humans. The United Kingdom passed the Medicines Act of 1968, which “states that all new pharmaceutical products must be tested on at least two different species of live mammal, one of which must be a large non-rodent” (Animal Testing). Drugs can have significant dangers and impacts on humans, so animal research gauges the risks and threats and decreases human harm. Although there are already existing laws to regulate animal testing, it is not a foolproof system. For example, the Animal Welfare Act standardizes the number of times a particular animal has been used, the overall number of animals used, the degree of pain that may be inflicted, and also creates a standard of care and treatment (Animal Welfare Act). However, the Animal Welfare Act only includes the protection of mainly mammals. Animals such as fish, frogs, rats, birds, mice, and worms are overlooked and are not protected by this law. Existing laws should be modified in order to encompass animals of all species. Laboratories and scientists should aspire to the highest levels of animal welfare whenever possible, such as using anesthetics and keeping animals in comfortable and sanitary settings. Another argument for animal testing is that it aids researchers in finding drugs and treatments to improve health and medicine. Medical treatments for cancer, HIV, insulin, antibiotics, and vaccines are just few of the many ways animal testing has helped advance the field of medicine. “Animal research has been the basis of new vaccines, new cancer therapies, artificial limbs and organs, new surgical techniques, and the development of hundreds of useful products and materials” (Andre). If animal testing did not exist, many medications and procedures that are currently used today would also not exist. “Animal research has played a vital role in virtually every major medical advance of the last century – for both human and veterinary health. From antibiotics to blood transfusions, from dialysis to organ transplantation, from vaccinations to chemotherapy, bypass surgery and joint replacement, practically every present-day protocol for the prevention, treatment, cure and control of disease, pain and suffering is based on knowledge attained through research with lab animals” (Pycroft). In the last 103 years, 71 of the Nobel Prizes for Medicine were awarded to scientists who used animals (Pycroft). Some may argue that it is cruel and unethical to test on animals because animals shouldn’t have to suffer. However, a great majority of people all around the world eat meat or wear leather without any guilt and humans still continue to consume animal products, so animal testing should also continue. Since there are many questions regarding the ethics of using animals for testing, regulations and laws have been implemented to “ensure that research is carried out in as humane and as ethical manner as possible” (Shandilya). It is possible to carry out animal testing without being cruel. Animal testing is not cruel and inhumane like many people view it to be. If researchers do not employ animal testing in the laboratory, animal lives would be saved but it would ultimately endanger humankind because animal testing benefits society. Although the prevention of animal death and suffering is important, the reduction of human suffering is the first priority. If there is even the slightest chance that an experiment will result in a medical breakthrough that will decrease the amount of human death and pain, then it is justifiable to continue animal experimentation.
Humankind does not realize how dependent they are on animal research and how much it affects their lives. Society’s medical and biological knowledge would be nowhere as advanced as we are today if it weren’t for animal research. “These benefits to humans far outweigh the costs in suffering that relatively few animals have to endure. Society has an obligation to maximize the opportunities to produce such beneficial consequences, even at the cost of inflicting some pain on animals” (Andre). “The cost of the animal lives expended in research is worth the human and animal lives ultimately saved by animal research” (Richards). Unless we find a better alternative to animal testing, it will continue to play an integral part in the perpetuation and wellbeing in humanity.
Works Cited
Andre, Claire. "Animal Testing and Ethics." Santa Clara University - Welcome. Web. 26 Nov. 2010. <http://ww.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v1n3/cures.html>. \
"Animal Welfare Act : Government and Professional Resources." Animal Welfare Information Center. Web. 04 Dec. 2010. <http://awic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=3&tax_level=3&tax_subject=182&topic_id=1118&level3_id=6735&level4_id=0&level5_id=0&placement_default=0>.
"HIV Drugs, Vaccines and Animal Testing." AIDS & HIV Information from the AIDS Charity AVERT. Web. 26 Nov. 2010. <http://www.avert.org/hiv-animal-testing.htm>.
Pycroft, Laurie. Pro-Test: Standing up for Science. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. <http://www.pro-test.org.uk/>.
Richards, Rebekah. "Animal Testing Pros and Cons - Debate Over Animal Research." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. <http://www.suite101.com/content/animal-testing-pros-and-cons---debate-over-animal-research-a236947>.
Shandilya, Ranjan. "Animal Testing Pros." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 27 Nov. 2010. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/animal-testing-pros.html>.

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