Animal experimentation is critical for human life as well as animal life. Imagine this world without chemotherapy, antibiotics, organ transplants and joint replacements. I’m sure that this world would have been difficult without these discoveries because everyday millions of people are in need of each one of the discoveries. Animal experimentation is important in improving human health because it has helped discover many treatments such as the polio vaccine. “Polio, short for poliomyelitis, is a viral
disease that can damage the nervous system and cause paralysis. Since polio immunization has become widespread in the United States, cases of polio are rare”
[DHPE]. According to Animal Experimentation Is Always Justified, the polio vaccine was introduced in 1961 and it was developed through experimentation on monkeys. Also animal experimentation is vital to human life because it has helped and will continue to help scientist develop life-saving medication which several people are using today. For instance, insulin for diabetes was developed through animal experimentation. Insulin helps diabetics because insulin aids the cells which then obtains glucose and then converts it into energy. Many other cures and treatments have been found through animal experimentation, such as rescue inhalers for asthma patients and also to “include the discovery of penicillin, treatments for hemophilia and childhood leukemia, and the development and trials of vaccines for meningitis in children” [Cook].
Animals have served us a great purpose for medicine, our food source and companionship and if an animal can serve a greater purpose for human life, it should be pursued. However, most individuals think that human and animals are two completely different species. According to Americans for Medical Progress, “Animals are biologically similar to humans in many ways and they are vulnerable to over two hundred of the same health problems.” This is why animals are experimented on because they have similar organ systems and the way things are processed in the body are also similar to humans. Since animals serve such a great purpose we often use the animals for testing to see if the drugs are too strong, to weak or even to dangerous. Scientists infect animals with viruses, which helps find a new treatment or vaccines, which the scientist can study,
the effects of the illness at the same time. Also experimenting drugs on animals could and will help scientist develop new drugs for medication or even help improve old ones.
Animals have always been a part of human life, but activists feel that animal experimentation is cruel and unethical. Several animals are being killed daily but not just for research, but also for the meat we eat. Activist aren’t protesting that we should stop eating meat, or drinking milk and eating eggs because over a billion cows and chicken die each year for milk, eggs and meat products that we eat. Activists just need to let scientists do their job because it could end up saving their own life or a loved ones life. Scientist are experimenting on animals, but not to intentionally hurt the animals, but it’s to help save lives of others. Since animals can provide us with such great purpose, of coarse we would take the advantage to progress in medical research. “Before any laboratory animals are used we must ask, Is this research necessary? Can this information be obtained without animals? With fewer animals? With less pain” [Pardue]? Scientist need the support of everyone because “there are people who want to stop medical progress and are using a variety of tactics to publicize their message from mild to extreme and life threatening” [Cook]. Scientist should deserve more credit for what they have been doing for us, then what they are now, because scientists don’t receive enough credit from the public.
In April of 2008, survey’s show that 59 percent of people were for animal testing, 27 percent were against animal testing and the other 14 percent were undecided about animal medical experimentation [Wal-Mart]. In 2005, the United States reported that 1,177,566 animals were used for research. Out of 1,177,566 only 84,662 animals were
reported that had pain with no drugs. Less than a quarter of animals reported had pain with no drugs administered to them. Out of 1,177,566 425,171 had pain but were treated with drugs and the other 667,733 had no pain or no drugs given to them [AWA Inspections]. “In 2000, about $45 billion was spent in the United States for biomedical research. This figure includes all research, not only research with animals and it includes both government and private funding” [FBR]. According to MSNBC, the United States has spent $95 billion a year on medical research. Statistics show that every year more money is spent on medical research; due to the different types of medical research conducted not all research is conducted on animals.
Alternatives to animal testing should be pursued if the technology will provide results as efficient as animals do for us. Alternatives such as stem cell research, which work but only to a certain point, should be pursed to the best of its abilities. The down fall about stem cell research is when a scientist test drugs on a cell, the scientist doesn’t actually get to see how the whole entire body will react to the drug, and that is very important due to many medications have side effects. Stem cell research is used as an alternative for assessing potential toxicity to developing embryos, which has partially replaced for birth defect testing in rats and rabbits. The EpiDerm test, human skin model test, has almost replace skin corrosion studies in rabbits [PETA]. According to the EPA and the National Institute of Health, they have launched a chemical testing collaboration project that could ultimately reduce the use of laboratory animals for research into potential adverse health effects of a broad range of chemicals. This technology would help reduce time and money spent on animal experimentation. The down fall about this is
that it could take years to switch from animal testing to this technology because of the time needed to validate new scientific methods [Sissell]. In time, it could be possible that electronics or other technology could replace some animals from being tested on, but alternatives could never fully replace animal experimentation like everyone wants them to.
In the future scientists will be able to find a cure for cancer and HIV/AIDS. But what if animal experimentation was to be absolutely stopped, what would happen to research on cancer, heart disease and AIDS and would the progress in treatments and cures for such illnesses also come to a complete stop? When scientist find cures for cancer and HIV/AIDS then millions of lives will be saved, but the only way a cure for
theses medical illnesses will be through animal experimentation. Doctor Dobursin believes, “The only way a vaccine or cure for AIDS will be developed, will be through animal experimentation.” I also agree with my family doctor, because I feel that only scientific medical research on animals will help us discover many more vaccines and cures especially for AIDS and cancer. According to the Foundation for Biomedical Research, “A study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concluded that animal research has helped increase our life expectancy by 23.5 years.” If animal experimentation was taken away from scientific research, then more lives will be lost and unfortunately it would be impossible to discover more cures and treatments. Animals have always been a human need, and to make sure scientists can discover new and improved cures and vaccines, animals are our best models yet, to experiment on.
Works Cited
“Alternatives: Testing Without Torture.” PETA Media Center. 25 Mar. 2008
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“Animal Research.” Americans for Medical progress. 2006. 24 Mar. 2008
AWA INSPECTIONS. Animals Used In Research. 18 Apr. 2008. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/downloads/awreports/awreport2005.p df
Cohen BJ and Loew FM (1984) Laboratory Animal Medicine: Historical Perspectives in Laboratory Animal Medicine (eds J.G. Fox, B.J. Cohen and F.M. Loew) Academic Press, Inc., Orlando, Florida.
Cook, Kristina. “Why Animal Research is Important AND Needed: A Copy of the Speech I Gave on the February 25th Demonstration” Pro-test: Stand Up For Science. 14 Apr. 2008. http://www.pro- test.org.uk/b2evo/index.php?blog=7&title=why_animal_research_is_important_a nd_nee&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
Directors of Health Promotion and Education. “Polio”. 19 Apr. 2008 http://www.dhpe.org/infect/polio.html
Dobursin, Richard. Personal Interview. 16 Apr. 2008.
Foundation for Biomedical Research. “Quick Facts about Animal Research.” 15 Apr. 2008. http://www.fbresearch.org/education/quickfacts.htm
MSNBC. “$95 billion a year spent on medical research-Report questions whether money is well spent on important diseases.” 20 Sept. 2005. 21 Apr. 2008. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9407342/
Pardue, Leslie. “Alternatives to Animal testing Should Be Pursued.” At Issue Animal Experimentation. Ed. David M. Haugen. San Diego: Greenheaven Press, 2000. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Gateway Community College (AZ). 31 Mar. 2008 http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=re trieve&tabIDT010&prodld=OVRC&docld=EJ3010002216&source=gale&srcpro d=OVRC&userGroupName=mcc_gateway&version=1.0
Sissell, Kara. “Research Deal May Shift Chemical Testing from Animal to Robots.” Chemical Week. 2 Feb. 2008 170-6. Pg.11. 28 Mar. 2008
Wal-Mart. Survey. 12 Apr. 2008.
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