In American society, many groups and organizations are debating whether or not animal testing should be banned.
Some people believe that there are reasons why animal testing should be done. Others believe that animal testing is morally wrong. Some experts believe that there are other options available. I believe that animal testing is wrong based on three observations: animal testing is unethical, pointless, and abusive. Numerous years ago, animal testing was started to help humans obtain information.
The process of testing on animals is, quite possibly, one of the most disturbing experiments ever performed. Many cosmetics and personal care products are manufactured every year and put into the market after they have been tested on animals. Almost every product was tested at some stage in its development on an animal. These products go through a long and complex testing process that leaves millions of animals mutilated, burned, poisoned, and gassed in outmoded and unnecessary tests.
From these different experiments, animals are often left with different diseases like Syphilis, Herpes, or AIDS. Manufacturers of these different products use the excuse that they are performing these tests to assure our safety for these products. The manufacturers want to make sure that humans are not in any amount of danger. But is going to this extreme necessary? My first point of why animal testing is an unethical process is based on some of the brutal things that happen in the process of the testing. According to an online article titled "Animals Used for Experimentation | PETA.
rg", certain types of animals are used for different types of experimentation.Some well known animals that are used for testing are cats, dogs, mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, sheep, llamas, cattle, owls, deer, monkeys, and other primates. These are not, by any means, all of the animals that researchers use. These are only the most common. For example, the Draize Test, a test assessing the potential of drugs, chemicals, cosmetics, and other commercial products to produce irritation, pain, or damage to the human eye is used on white albino rabbits.
White albino rabbits are used because of their highly sensitive eyes and because the formation of their tear ducts stops tears from draining away all of the foreign substance. In this process, scientists rub substances, such as shampoo, soap, toothpaste, cleaners, lipstick, or even lawn products, into their gorgeous, red eyes. After doing this, the scientists record the observations of the damages caused from their experiment. This test may last up to eighteen days with the poor animals eyelids held open with a clip.According to Doris Lin’s online article “"What Is the Draize Test - Definition of Draize Test”, many of the rabbits end up harming themselves in the process by breaking their necks while trying to escape from the horrifying pain.
First off, it is absolutely pointless to keep the dangerous product in their eyes for that long of a time period. It is highly unlikely that even a child would have a substance such as lipstick in his or her eye for that long. The second reason this is unnecessary to do to a creature is the eye tissue of a rabbit is completely different from humans.The horrible pain they end up going through for no beneficial reason is absolutely ridiculous.
In fact, while reading online articles from different doctors, I discovered that using animals in the medical area has not helped humans near what people think it has. Although animals are living breathing creatures like us, this does not mean their systems are anything like ours. In fact, they are not anything like ours. There has been testing after testing done on animals to help find cures and medicine that will work on humans with no successful end result.
Why would companies even agree with animal experimentation? Certain companies, such as Clairol, demand that they would under no circumstance use animal testing on their shampoo product, Herbal Essences. There are also some companies, like Mother's Bath products, that do test on animals, but not dangerously. The major difference is they shampoo their own dogs to see how it smells after being cleaned off with water. This type of procedure is not actual animal testing. The reason being is because it is not deathly and does not harm the animals in any way.Mother's Products inventor did state in an interview, "Beyond these happy volunteers, we do not test on animals.
All other product testing is on ourselves, friends, and family. " This is the best type of testing to do, on real voluntary human beings. Another element on why experimentation on animals is wrong is because, in multiple ways, it is pointless. According to an online article titled "Animal Testing”, the main stated reason that major companies even test their products on animals is because they are supposedly watching out for the safety of human beings.
Most toxic products are tested on many types of different animals.Some toxic products that are used are: soaps, detergents, oven cleaners, and toilet cleaners. What is the problem with this picture? No amount of rigorous animal testing could possibly change the fact that many of these products are harmful if ingested or used in a way not intended by the manufacturer. In other words, there is no reason to force animals to swallow any toxic products, when no matter what, they would harm any person if they choose to digest it. Another point, many different types of drugs are actually very useful to human beings, but very dangerous, and deadly, to animals.For example, Penicillin can help people's lives, but actually kills guinea pigs.
Another drug is Aspirin, which, in fact, causes birth defects in mice, monkeys, rats, cats, guinea pigs and dogs. Obviously, this is a major difference when dealing with humans. Animal testing is also unnecessary because there is no law stating that you must test a product on animals. The only product that is forced by the law, to test on animals, are certain types of chemicals and pharmaceutical products. To think that people are so cruel against animals, and there is no reason for it is ridiculous.There are obviously many other ways, besides animal testing, which can be used to test different products.
These different alternatives could possibly be more effective, be a better indicator for humans, have much quicker results, and would not be involved in any kind of animal unkindness. So, why do companies not realize that they do not have to do testing on innocent animals? In today's technologically advanced world, in which science has made monstrous steps in many promising directions, many alternatives exist to animal testing.Many alternatives exist to the use of live animals in research. In fact, the online article "Alternatives to Animal Testing: Non-Animal-Testing" explained that some alternatives to animals currently used are a synthetic skin, called Corrositex. Another alternative to testing on animals is with computer modeling.
These are only two of the many choices that would be safer than animal testing. "Alternatives: Testing Without Torture | PETA. org. " explaines that alternative methods fall into three broad categories called the 3 Rs: Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement.Replacement is what most people consider when one says alternatives to animal testing.
With replacement, the animals are replaced, either by methods that do not involve animals at all or by those that use only the cells or tissues of animals. Many replacement alternatives involve in glass techniques, where the studies are done with cells or tissues. If the cells come from human beings, it is called absolute replacement. If the cells come from animals, it is called relative replacement. Using these methods does not require a living animal in the laboratory.The final reason why animal testing is so cruel is because innocent animals are being abused without reason.
For example, many animals that are used in all of these experiments are animals that have either been stolen or are from different animal shelters. From there, they are taken to animal testing sites. All of these animal experimentation sites have been inspected, but although the research centers are legalized, does not mean that animals are not being abused. There is no reason to do this to such young animals, or any animals for that manner. Today, many companies have turned from animal testing.They now feel that animal experimentation is a cruel process that leaves innocent animals dead for no apparent reason.
Although many companies have agreed that it is an absurd process, animal testing is still a huge part of product testing. After all of the reasons of why animal testing is ridiculous, hopefully a law will soon stop the cruel process. Although many companies have stopped these practices and tests, there are many that still practice this process. A question that is brought up in many people’s mind is: Why would animal testing still be going on if there are alternatives?
