Animal testing Essay Example for Free

Animal testing Essay Animal testing is used for many products worldwide. Also animal testing is used for a wide range of things, such as items in houses and medicines. Many places test on animals, such as private facilities, universities, and government laboratories. A big debate in today’s society is whether or not scientist should use animals for testing. Most of the animals die during or after the testing. Typing animal testing on images on the Internet it is most likely that gruesome images of rabbits, mice, cats, and dogs being used as test subjects will appear. Some people believe that animal testing has improved the world and continues to do so. They look, at the good side of what animal testing has done for humans. People want to make sure that the product that they are using is safe and won’t affect them in a negative way. Most people believe that it is okay as long as the animal is put to sleep while being tested on and if the animals feel no pain then it doesn’t matter that they are being tested on. Most people think that since most people eat animals; why not use them for testing, which can help humans. But other people think that there are better ways to conduct these experiments. These people can’t stand the fact that millions of animals die because of testing. Haugen, David Animal Experimentation A lot of animal testing is used for cosmetics. Items such as mascara and shaving cream are common cosmetics. The most used animals for animal testing are rabbits, guinea pigs, and mice or rats. It is important for some people to know that their cosmetics were not used to harm animals. However, other people say that they would rather have their products tested by animals because they would rather be safe and to make sure that they wont be affected by the product in a negative way. Another main reason for animal testing is for medical research. Medical research has helped technology. Scientist, want to make sure that they are testing with the most current technology and at this moment its animals. The study of animals helps scientist understand better. Ways that Animal testing has helped medial research is that it has helped find a cure for breast cancer, leukemia, lung cancer, and many others. Now days it seems not ethical for humans to be tested on, but in the past people in mental hospitals or prisons have been used as â€Å"guinea pigs†. In the past this behavior was acceptable. Humans that are tested subjects these days are able to speak up for themselves where animals are not capable of that. Most people that agree with animal testing have never been forced to do something that they didn’t have a say about and didn’t have rights. Darwin has showed that we share a common lineage with other animals, and a subsequent genetic research has shown the closeness of evolutionary links. This means that we are very similar to animal. Boines, The use of curari in a repository medium in the management of acute poliomyelitis. Most of the animals that are from the streets or animal shelters that are being used as test subjects. Scientists believe that if the animal is going to no use, then it should be used for testing. Some laboratories hire people to drive around to find animals on the street. Most people don’t believe that this is right because that animal could be someone’s lost loving pet. In the past there have been cases of animals being stolen for testing and even trades happening for testing. Jmett, The student roos Animal testing has decreased. The main cause of it decreasing is that people have become more aware of it and what the side effects are to animals. Also a lot of people spend most of their time protesting against it and making other people aware of it. The push of stopping animal testing has affected businesses. For example cosmetic, companies have lost customers because the customers that believe that animal testing isn’t ethical don’t want to buy their pro ducts from a business that test on animals. This has pushed many large cosmetic companies to quit animal testing, but some of them don’t tell the complete truth. People have found that companies that say they are â€Å"animal testing free† usually have other companies test their products on animals for them. They can get away with having the other company willing to test for them because the companies that sell â€Å"animal tested free† products can get away with double or tripling the actual value because they know that customers want to see the words of animal tested free and then the company will share the profit with the other company that tested the products on the animals for them. n.p, A Critical Evaluation of Animal Research People read articles and the description of how they actually test the animal and it shocks them and they think that animal testing should be banned forever, but most of these people also don’t realize that animal testing has helped us with our medical research. Most people that have been sick or are close to someone that is seriously ill and animal testing is one of their only hopes for getting better; then they all of a sudden are all for animal testing. A big question is, ‘is animal testing worth it†? Some people say no because more than half of the animals end up dying after testing. And the testing is usually for the humans and their bodies can react different than the animals, so most people believe that testing isn’t even worth it. The other side of the people believes that testing is worth it because even though animals die there is still progress in today’s medical research. The more that animals get tested on the more we come closer to a better society. They believe that scientists need to start with something and that something is testing on animals. Botting, The history of thalidomide. Drug News Perspectives, Evaluation of the potential effects of ingredients added to cigarettes. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 40 There have been multiple cases where animal testing has affected animals differently than it affected the humans. When cigarettes first came out, they tested them by animals to see if they were safe. If they went by just what animal testing showed about cigarettes, it would be wrong. For animals to inhale cigarette smoke is okay and it won’t harm them, where it would harm humans. Cigarettes also didn’t cause cancer in animals, which they actually do in humans. This shows that cancer is different for animals and humans. Another example is the drug Thalidomide, which was to help prevent nausea and morning sickness for pregnant mothers. Thalidomide was tested on many animals and all of the animals showed the drug as being safe and okay. The drug ended up being unsafe, which caused babies to be born with deformities. The main deformity from this drug caused â€Å"flipper limbs†. This was when the legs and arms were really short and were joined at the hip and shoulder joints. The reason that all of the animals showed this drug to be safe was because the drug was not correctly tested. To be correctly tested they would have had to test the drug on pregnant animals to show accurate results, which shows another way that animal testing isn’t always effective and doesn’t always show the most accurate results. This is just two out of countless documents where animal testing failed to work. All the products were initially tested on animals and were thought to be safe for humans, but when given to humans, major consequences took place leading to deaths and deformities. Animal testing was disproven to be accurate in these tests. This leads people to believe that animal testing is not safe and that people shouldn’t always trust that animal testing would be accurate. Allanou, Public availability of data on EU high production volume chemicals. Some people believe that animal testing has slowed the process of medicine. They believe this because they think that scientists waste time by testing on the animals. They could waste time because some animals react diffe rent then humans and most animals end up dying. Others believe that it is worth the time and that great things can come out of animal testing, which is very true. Humans should be very thankful for what scientist have accomplished. Because of animal testing, scientists have been able to create medicines, vaccines, and insulin that can cure humans. Animal testing has also helped physicians. Animal testing has helped them by making it more accurate for them to perform surgeries, such as heart and lung surgeries. Testing has allowed doctors and scientists save many lives. â€Å"Animal research has played a vital rise 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 join replacement, practically every present day protocol for the prevention, treatment, cure and control of disease, pain and suffer ing is based on knowledge attained through research with lab animals.† The Foundation for Biomedical Research. This makes people believe that if animal testing were to slow down then advancements in modern medicine would significantly slow down. There are about 450 ways to replace animal testing. For some reason many people believe that animal testing is the only option, but that its wrong. The reason we haven’t completely stopped testing on animals is because it would cost a lot of money to replace it, but in the long run it would probably save us money. Also, animals are easier to obtain in labs because scientist are so used to working with them. It’s easy to keep their day-to-day habits instead of changing their whole research and starting over. Also people see that animals die everyday from being tested and they couldn’t imagine seeing humans die occasionally from being experimented with. The rate that society is going, animal testing will always happen, but as time goes by it will be improved and become more humane. Some people believe that animals do not feel pain. Scientists assume though that they do feel pain. An animal has a vertebra back bone just like humans, which leads scientist to believe that they have the same nerves as us. This means that the animals might feel the same or similar to what we feel. Some scientists do believe that if the animal is in intense shock from the testing it won’t feel any pain. This information makes people aware of the effects of animal testing. Some people argue and say that instead of testing on animals test on humans because animals have no say in what happens to them as where humans have a voice and can speak up for themselves. The other side of the argument is that a human’s life is more valuable than an animal’s. Humans are more advanced than an animal, which leads people to feel more compassionate about the human.Crawford The schizophrenic career of a â€Å"monster drug† Some people view animals as equals to humans. The common thing that most people think is that humans are on a higher level than animals because humans have control over their lives and more characteristics, such as humans are more intelligent, creative, aware, technologically advanced, able to understand and speak an language, and able to make moral choices. These rights are what lead people to believe that humans are higher than animals, but the other side of the argument can prove this wrong in their own way. The other side of the argument says that since animals can feel pain they are the same equally as humans. People don’t think that humans and animals should be separated into different groups because they both suffer and can both die. People also point out that not all humans are capable of having all the characteristics that a normal human would have, such as infants or handicapped humans. These people that have less characteristics sometimes might even have less than an animal so an animal would be higher on power. Also since infants don’t have high levels of characteristics many Americans believe that they should be given equal power, which is the same power as a grown adult. They think this is right because their parents value them. But then that doesn’t work for pets if a human values them. This is very inconsistent it shows that life isn’t fair at times. But to be fair everything that is valued by an adult should have rights not just one half. One of the biggest issues that people use to defend animal testing is that the animals are going to die eventually anyway. They say that in nature animals would end up killing each other or dying of natural causes. This is very true, but the other side can argue and say that the way the animals are getting tested on is not â€Å"natural†. The animals end up dying, but a painful death that wasn’t planned to happen. Some humans torture other humans without their consent; such as rape and that it is looked down upon and is not acceptable in our society. Also people for animal testing say humans hunt the animals and kill them to eat, which is true. The other side states that it’s not the same because hunting is for a benefit to survive. They understand that animal testing could be for our benefit for example it can be good for medical research. Even though it can be beneficial, it still is different than hunting because animal testing can be a painful process for the animal and not every company uses it for benefits. LyonTobacco smoke and involuntary smoking, monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans. International Agency for Research on Cancer Most people are unaware that animal testing is actually beneficial to animals themselves. Animals need to have the best nutrient and if anyone has an animal as a pet more than likely the animal isn’t going to go out and hunt for its food in the wild, which would make sure it got all of its necessary nutrition. So to make sure the pet has the best nutrition it has to get all of it in its dog food that people buy at the store for them. To make sure all of the right nutrients is in the dog food and won’t harm the animal scientists have to test the product on animals to get the best result. Scientists have also used animals for testing on worms, which is a medical problem for animals and have come up with a result that helps pet’s lives. Most people agree that this is right because it is actually benefiting the animals and their lives weren’t just a waste. I believe that animal testing isn’t ethical. I am an animal lover, but it’s not just that. I disagree in what takes place in the labs. I believe that humans and animals are equally on the same level. So when you see an animal cramped up in a tight, small cage think to yourself what if they were one of your friends or a family member? These animals never get affection so I imagine what life would be like growing up as a child with no one there to support me or lead the way for me. Animal testing has been around for years and people are just now realizing that it is harmful. I also don’t believe that animal testing is accurate. Rabbit’s eyes are different than ours. Rabbits feel more pain in their eyes than humans and the pain effects them longer and it takes a long time for the substance that we put in their eyes to go away. A rabbit’s eye is ten times more reactant to hydraulic solution than our eyes. After the rabbits are tested on scientists wait 14 days until they clean the solution out of their eyes. Whenever I’m in the shower and I get shampoo in my eyes I make sure that I clean them out right away, which is normal they shouldn’t have to have solution sitting in their eyes for two weeks when us humans cant even stand it for a minute. The rabbits are extremely affected by this test. The chemical causes swollen eyes, irritated and cloudy eyes, and inflamed skin around the eyes. Also they might endure ulcers, bleeding, or blindness. Once the test are finished the rabbits die. I believe most cosmetic companies are frauds. They say they are doing animal testing to make sure that the products are safe and that they care about their customers. In reality they just perform the animal testing so any customers don’t sue them. Many cosmetic companies say that the law requires them to perform test on animals to make sure their products are safe, but the companies don’t make that a law. So millions of animals suffer and die for selfish companies not wanting to get sued by their customers. I also believe that in the past when new products were first coming out it was okay because we didn’t even know how these products would affect anything. In general I think every cosmetic companies knows what’s right and wrong for their customers. Works Cited Hansen, Allanou R. Public availibility of data on EU high productions volume chemicals. N.p.: Jont Research center, 1009. Print. American Practice. Boines, 3 May 2010. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. James, Botting J. The History of thalomide. N.p.: Food and Chemical Toxicoigy, 1991. Print. Lane, Crawford C. The schizophrenic carrer of a monster drug. N.p.: Pediatrics, 1993. Print.