Pros And Cons Of Using Animals For Animal Testing

Should people use animals for drug testing?

People use animals for experiments for centuries. The first references of using animals in scientific purpose appeared in the works of the Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle in the fourth century BC and he “was the first to have made dissections which revealed internal differences among animals” (Laboratory Primate Advocacy Group). The Greek anatomist and royal physician Erisistratus was the first who started with experiments with living animals (Laboratory Primate Advocacy Group). Animal experimentation was slowly developing through the human history. About two hundred years ago it became more common and a widely accepted practice. Nowadays prevalence of researches and experiments on animals is intimidating. The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection estimates “that on

According to the USDA Animal Care Report only in the US there are more than 1000 registered research facilities and laboratories which have rights to conduct experiments on living animals (United States Department of Agriculture). Today the majority of animals used in experiments are purposely bred by scientists in special breeding centers (the purpose-bred animals). Unfortunately, the majority of those animals are killed during the experiments or euthanatized after them (The Human Society of the United States). However, scientists and researchers claim that experiments on living animals are necessary and contribute a lot to developing of many life-saving drugs for humans, such as drugs for treating breast cancer, leukemia, diabetes, heart diseases, strokes and many other (Americans for Medical Progress). Today there are many issues and questions related to animal experimentation: would not it be more appropriate to study human’s disease on humans? Don’t animal’s organisms differ from humans? Does animal experimentation really help? Are there any alternatives to experiments on living animals? In