Should Animal Testing Be Banned

     Animal testing has been one of the controversial ethical issues that provokes two-side arguments. The earliest debate can be traced back to the 17th century when the number of using animals for medical research was on the rise drastically. Even nowadays, the discussion over whether to refuse animal testing or not is still intense. Many countries have already made laws to protect the animals in the laboratory, but the efforts still can be increased. Animal testing should be banned for several reasons.

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     First, conducting experiments on lively animals is extremely brutal and immoral. Some approaches used in experiments are inhumane, such as compelling the animals to take in poisonous gas and dissecting their bodies. The animals are even euthanized after the experiment. According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal (PETA) (n.d.), over 100 million animals suffer from inhumane chemicals, drugs, and cosmetics examinations in the U.S. every year. It seems that numerous animals have died in biology experiments. However, like humans, animals will fear and panic, and they also have the right to live. Regan (1983), a prominent animal-rights promoter, once noted that some animals are also subjects in life, and they have the right to live, no matter if their rights are recognized or not. If we put ourselves in other people’s shoes, we definitely don’t want to be treated the same way.

     Another point is that animal experimentation should also consider reliability. It is said that animal experimentation wastes scientific resources, and the results cannot be completely precise when the drugs are absorbed into human bodies. From the gene ontology, the organs’ similarity, metabolism, immune system to the environment of the laboratory, and the temperature, there are so many critical factors that will influence the accuracy of the consequence and make the precise outcomes unfeasible. Research in 2004 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had revealed that 92 percent of drugs in clinical trials phrase turned out to be disapproved, even though they had already passed animal experiments. Capaldo (2014), a president of an animal advocacy organization also stated, “If humans’ closest relative — humans and chimpanzees share up to 98 percent of their genes — is not useful for human research, why would any species be?” That means animal testing cannot be directly applied to human beings. Thus, there is no need to insist on doing experiments on animals.

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     Some experts and companies state that the medicine, vaccines, or cosmetics that have been tested on animals can help the results be more accurate and ensure the quality of the products. However, presently, there are several feasible alternative approaches that can also examine the effects of the drugs and substances’ impact on humans’ bodies, such as Microdosing and Positron Emission Tomography (PET), in vitro, and in silico method, etc. Some biotech corporations have already replaced animal testing with these non-animal ones, and the approaches will surely be more and more widespread in the future. Now that cutting-edge technology has permitted preferable techniques to test the effects of medicine and cosmetics, animal testing seems not to be requisite anymore.

     To sum up, because of the cruelty and the ethical problems, the lack of accuracy of the test, and the existing alternatives, animal testing has to be prohibited. Humans are not Gods, and we do not have the power to make decisions on other species. To create more animal-friendly surroundings, some countries such as countries in the EU, Australia, Norway, the U.K., etc. have already made up their minds to limit or forbid animal testing by enacting strict policies and promoting other alternative ways. Animals are like humans. We are all the species in the world, and the relationship should be balanced. Instead of just benefiting from the animals, people should respect the precious lives of every subject.

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Sources

https://sciencing.com/animal-testing-pros-cons-8012597.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_testing

https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/alternatives-animal-testing/

 

 

References

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal (PETA) (n.d.). Animal testing facts and alternatives.

PETA.ORG

https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/animal-testing-101/

Regan T. (1983). The Case for Animal Rights

https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=acwp_awap

Capaldo T. (2014). Animal data is not reliable for human health research (op-ed). LIVESCIENCE.

https://www.livescience.com/46147-animal-data-unreliable-for-humans.html