The controversial topic that I chose to do my research paper on is whether or not animal testing should be used in scientific experiments. This topic is important because 26 million animals are used annually in the U.S alone. I chose this topic because of the strong views of both sides and how well backed up they are. This is a major discussion that has been going on for years with no apparent resolution in sight. There are two sides to using animal testing, which are that using animals has helped us in experiments, making us able to test on living subjects without using human volunteers, and that animal testing is abusive, cruel and unnecessary because of the other resources we could use, being that animals are different from humans. Animal testing has been practiced around the 17th century at least and has been used for the majority of scientific testing around the globe. The oldest known experiment with animal testing was with William Harvey 's experiment by demonstrating blood circulation on multiple animal types. Animal testing continued to spread throughout Europe in the 19th century where anesthetics were developed which made the use of animals in testing possible. In 1876, the Cruelty to Animals Act passed. This set limits on animal …show more content…
Chimpanzees are one of the most commonly used animals in the lab for mainly one reason, that the share 99% of the DNA that humans have. Mice, another very common animal in testing, share 98% of the same DNA we have. Animal testing only works if the animal we are testing on is similar to humans. If the subject the scientist is experimenting on is not similar to humans, the experiment will not be conclusive if it will work on a human subject. The animals tested have the same seat of organs we have with nearly the same functioning bloodstream and nervous system. Also animals are susceptible to the same illnesses that we
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreHumanity has a history of experimentation on animals and death is what will come of it if animals continue to be treated inhumanely. On a daily basis animals are removed from their natural habitat and taken to labs to be tested on for human products. Animal experimentation has become a very popular method of research and testing. This procedure is most common in the United States and European countries, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom being the most popular.
Many human diseases exist in other species also. Cancer, heart failure, asthma, rabies, etc. are natural diseases in many different animals and testing began with animals with cures, preventions, and treatments now available for animals and humans. The polio vaccine used in humans is still used in wild chimps today and was originally tested on primates before it was introduced to humans. The elimination of smallpox is possible because it was originally tested on animal. These are only a few that we contribute to the use of animal testing.
Throughout thousands of years, animal testing has been proven to be beneficial for the human race. While it has done a wonderful job for us, it has only injured, killed and put an enormous amount of pain on animals. The exact number of animals used in research yearly is unknown, due to official government statistics not including mice, rats, birds, fish, or other animals used for testing: some estimates put the total number to be 26 million. The use of animals for scientific research is cruel and inhumane, while both humans and animals share similar traits, they are both made up of completely different genes making them poor test subjects to begin with and may mislead or cause side effects for both parties.
Animal testing has become a double-edged sword topic all around the world. Researchers believe that it is morally ethical to conduct extreme research procedures on animals when it is unethical to conduct on humans. Research is responsible for many medical breakthroughs and an important factor to the development of medical advances is the inclusion of animals in research. Medical research with the help of animal testing has prevented hepatitis B, measles, etc. (Karayiannis et al. 2004).
Noah Berlatsky. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2015. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "Animal Testing Is Bad Science: Point/Counterpoint."
Today, the ethics behind animal testing is furiously debated around scientists
We may have lost out on drugs that could be very advantageous to humans due to the fact to they would have or could have been detrimental to the animals they would have been tested on. A June 1, 2006 report on Slate.com stated that a "source of human suffering may be the dozens of promising drugs that get shelved when they cause problems in animals that may not be relevant for humans.” For example, a drug used to lower the threat of organ transplant rejection, was "almost shelved" because of animal test results, according to neurologist Aysha Akhtar, MD, MPH. An argument for animal testing is animals are adequate research subjects because they resemble human beings in many ways. One of these animals are chimpanzees due to the fact that they share 99% of their DNA with humans this is because all mammals including humans are descended from common ancestors and all have the same set of organs (heart,kidneys,etc) that function essentially in an identical way with the help of a bloodstream and central nervous system.
Imagine an enraged animal rights activist charging toward a scientist in a white lab coat, desperate to free the little mice that are being used as test subjects. Although comical, this scene may be quite accurate when describing the passion that animal lovers have when it comes to the touchy subject of animal testing. For centuries, animal testing has been used in the medical research field, however many are now beginning to question whether it is ethical. Millions of animals are killed per year due to animal testing, so is this practice worth banning? Animal testing is a controversial subject, with supporters pointing out the medical advances that have stemmed from animal research and animal rights activists declaring it cruel and immoral.
The Reality of Animal Testing Many animals each year are killed due to cosmetic and drug testing, biology lessons, and plain experiments driven by curiosity. Many are placed in horrible conditions, inhale deadly toxins, and have their lives cut short. Many are separated from their families to participate in experiments that in fact do not lead to medical advances. Many individuals are unaware of other alternatives. Many of you might disagree with me today, but I am here to present why animal testing is unnecessary.
90% agreed that animal testing was absolutely “essential”.(http://animal-testing.procon.org/) Many say that animals are the most similar to humans. Chimpanzees share 99% of their DNA with humans and mice share 98% of their genetics with humans. This makes scientists believe that humans and animals share the same diseases and same organ function.(http://animal-testing.procon.org/) Testing on animals can give a false information and can give misleading diagnosis.
Animal Testing Should Be Banned Animal testing also known animal experimentation is a process whereby non-human animals are used to conduct experiments. There has been an increase of animal testing in the field of biomedical research. Due to this, animal testing has become an extreme controversial topic that has created a division among different groups, of those who are supporting the process and those who are opposing. Therefore, there are ongoing debates on whether animal testing should go on or it should be banned. Some groups argue it is ethical, while others insist that the process is unethical, and there is a last group advocating for alternatives in the testing other than the use of animals.
Animals have similar anatomy to humans, but it is still vastly different. What works on an animal could have a totally different effect on humans. For example, according to the FDA, Vioxx, a drug used to treat arthritis, was found to be safe when tested in monkeys (and five other animal species) but has been estimated to have caused around 320,000 heart attacks and strokes and 140,000 deaths worldwide. This proves that medical testing on animals isn’t necessarily beneficial considering the physiological differences between man and animal. But that’s not the only case of medical testing gone wrong.
Researchers estimated over 26 million animals were used for scientific tests and commercial testing subject every year in the United States. Over the years animals were used to be tested on medical treatments, products for human uses, health care, and etc. The practice of researching on living animals has started since 500 BC. Opponents of this act say that it is cruel to experiment on animals, there are other methods available to replace the cruel act of experimenting on living animals, and that the human bodies and animal’s bodies are totally two different features and the research often yields irrelevant results. The federal Animal Welfare or AWA passed the animal testing act in 1966 and amended in 1970, 1976, and 1985.
Animal testing is a phrase that most people have heard but are perhaps still unsure of exactly what it involve. Whether it is called animal testing, experimentation or research, it should be defined as all testing methods on animals including, medical exploration, cosmetics, toxicology trialing, and psychological examination involving animal subjects. It is used to assess the safety and effectiveness of medications and beauty products as well as understanding how the human physiology works. While supporters believe it is necessary practice, those against animal testing believe that it involves torture and suffering to animals. Medical research is the hardest case of proposition in the debate whether animal testing should be banned or not, since it has previously yielded substantial benefits for humanity.
Animal testing simply means the use of non-human animals in experiments, which indeed arouse great controversy in recent years. More and more people think that human being’s benefits can’t outweigh animals’