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Why Animal Testing Needs to be Stopped
Animal testing has come to be some sort of societal norm, people see photos of tortured animals and although they think it is sad they believe that it’s necessary for their safety of using certain products. Animal testing is ethically wrong due to conditions animals are put through for the “success” of the product. Today, more and more makeup companies have turned away from testing their products on animals because many customers won’t use their products due to the conditions and terror many animals are put through. Many big-name companies are still conducting animal testing even though they have the funds for alternative methods. In this generation being vegan has become popular so if a vegan customer sees that a company is using animal testing for their products they will perhaps boycott themselves from purchasing any product from that company. Animal testing is ethically wrong and provides no benefit to human health.
Contrary to society’s belief animal testing does not provide any benefit to human health, usually when asked why companies continue to do animal testing they say it’s for the good of the public. This statement is just simply not true, “The only reason people are under the misconception that animal experiments help humans is because the media, experimenters, universities and lobbying groups exaggerate the potential of animal experiments to lead to new cures and the role they have played in past medical advances” (Animal Testing Is Bad Science). Many companies try to show its consumers that animal testing is for their “safety” and “well-being” but in reality, animal testing is unreliable when it comes to a certain drug or product being safe for animals but unsafe for humans. “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has noted that 92 percent of all drugs that are shown to be safe and effective in animal tests fail in human trials because they don't work or are dangerous. And of the small percentage that are approved for human use, half are relabeled because of side effects that were not identified in animal tests” (Animal Testing Is Bad Science). Many medications that are completely safe in humans are sometimes dangerous to be tested on animals.
“Acetaminophen, for example, is poisonous to cats but is a therapeutic in humans; penicillin is toxic in guinea pigs but has been an invaluable tool in human medicine; morphine causes hyper-excitement in cats but has a calming effect in human patients; and oral contraceptives prolong blood-clotting times in dogs but increase a human's risk of developing blood clots” (Results from Research on Animals).
This shows how we as a society should not be testing on animals to see the outcome of products on humans because the outcome is never beneficial to humans.
Even after research about animal testing being unethical and that they do not provide any benefit to human health there is still many researchers and companies that believe that animal testing is essential. According to The Foundation for Biomedical Research “Animals that are used for medical testing play a vital role in scientific progress. From testing drugs to helping doctors develop new surgical procedures” (Using Animals for Medical Testing). Although they say animals play a vital role in the progression of science, why do “Nine out of ten drugs that appear promising in animal studies go on to fail in human clinical trials. Indeed, because of the inherent differences between animals and humans, drugs and procedures that work in animals often end up failing in humans” (Results from Research on Animals). Researchers that agree with animal testing usually say that what they are doing is “ethical” due to The Animal Welfare Act that they are required to follow. “The Animal Welfare Act sets high standards of care for research animals with regard to their housing, feeding, cleanliness, ventilation, and medical needs. It also requires the use of anesthesia or analgesic drugs for potentially painful procedures” (Using Animals for Medical Testing). Even under The Animal Welfare Act not all animals used in animal testing are protected under this Act.
“ In the U.S., the most commonly used species in laboratory experiments (mice, rats, birds, reptiles, and amphibians) are specifically exempted from even the minimal protections of the federal Animal Welfare
Act (AWA). Laboratories that use only these species are not required by law to provide animals with pain
relief or veterinary care, to search for or consider alternative animal use, to have an institutional committee
review proposed experiments, or to be inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) or any other
entity. Experimenters don't even have to count the rats and mice they kill. Some estimates indicate that as many
as 800 U.S. laboratories are not subject to federal laws and inspections because they experiment exclusively
on mice, rats, and other animals whose use is unregulated" (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).
Animal testing is not ethical in any means, animals are subjected to cruel and torturous conditions.
“Each year, more than 100 million animals—including mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats,
rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish, and birds—are killed in U.S. laboratories
for chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics testing; biology lessons; medical training; and
curiosity-driven experimentation. Before their deaths, some are forced to inhale toxic
fumes, others are immobilized in restraint devices for hours, some have holes drilled into
their skulls, and others have their skin burned off or their spinal cords crushed. In
addition to the torment of the actual experiments, animals in laboratories are deprived of
everything that is natural and important to them—they are confined to barren cages,
socially isolated, and psychologically traumatized” (People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals).
Even after all of this torture they are put through and lives taken from them they still provide no benefit to human health, so why is animal testing still being pursued? It is wrong to take all of these animals lives just for the results of the testing to not even be beneficial to medical progression. “animals in laboratories are frequently treated as objects that can be manipulated at will, with little value for their lives beyond the cost of purchase. Animals have the right not to be exploited for science, and we should not have to choose between helping humans and harming animals” (American Anti-Vivisection Society). Taking innocent animals lives for the slim chance that a test done on an animal will have the same outcome is just not enough reason to put animals through these kinds of conditions.
In conclusion, animal testing is ethically and scientifically wrong and should no longer be pursued by researchers or companies. Due to the fact that absolutely no human benefits off of animal testing and the morality of animal testing is not right. Our society today should realize the truth about animal testing and ask themselves if they support it what they are benefiting from animal testing. In the future, we as a society should be able to use other alternatives to animal testing or pursue human testing since that would give 100% benefits to human health and give realistic outcomes for certain products.
Works Cited
American Anti-Vivisection Society. "Animal Research Is Unethical and Scientifically Unnecessary." Animal Experimentation, edited by Susan C. Hunnicutt, Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, ezp.tccd.edu/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010002249/OVIC?u=txshr acd2560&xid=58154013. Accessed 2 Nov. 2017. Originally published as "Problems with Animal Research,", 2011
"Animal Testing Is Bad Science." Animal Rights, edited by Noah Berlatsky, Greenhaven Press, 2015. Current Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, ezp.tccd.edu/login? url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010954207/OVIC?u=txshracd2560&xid=b3b2f534. Accessed 1 Nov. 2017. Originally published as "Animal Testing Is Bad Science: Point/Counterpoint,".
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "Medical Testing on Animals Is Cruel and Unnecessary."
Medical Testing, edited by Noël Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context, ezp.tccd.edu/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010895214/OVIC?
u=txshracd2560&xid=1a539182. Accessed 1 Nov. 2017. Originally published as "Animal Experiments:
Overview,", 2012.
"Results from Research on Animals Are Not Valid When Applied to Humans." Scientific Research, edited by Sylvia Engdahl, Greenhaven Press, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, ezp.tccd.edu/login? url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010948221/OVIC?u=txshracd2560&xid=1b37b3d2. Accessed 2 Nov. 2017. Originally published as "Problems with Animal Research," www.aavs.org.
"Using Animals for Medical Testing Is Both Ethical and Essential." The Ethics of Medical Testing, edited by Tamara Thompson, Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, ezp.tccd.edu/login? url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010777211/OVIC?u=txshracd2560&xid=fc166611. Accessed 2 Nov. 2017. Originally published in Fact v. Myth About the Essential Need for Animals in Medical Research, Foundation for Biomedical Research, 2008.
Photo:
“Nation of Change.” Nation of Change, bullhorn.nationofchange.org.
