Animals affect human life by giving company and happiness when no one else is willing. The human race would not know what to do if animals did not exist. Animals, like humans, have legal rights within the United States, including the right to be free from exploitation, abuse, neglect, and research. Animal testing is not a new form of research; the exploration of human and animal bodies began centuries ago. In the 3rd century, animals and humans were the first organisms used to satisfy anatomical curiosity, long before the development of anesthetics. Research and testing on animals has now become cruel and degrading to a point where alternatives need to be found. The research affects not only the animals and the public but also the people who …show more content…
The Animal Bill of Rights, created by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), believes that animals deserve the same basic legal rights as humans within the United States. The organization is working to show Congress an increase in support for legislation that protects and recognizes the rights of animals. The ALDF has created a petition that is to be sent to the United States Congress that points out that animals have “the Right to be free from exploitation, cruelty, neglect and abuse and the Right of laboratory animals is not to be used in cruel or unnecessary experiments” (Animal Legal Defense Fund). For animals in American society today, ALDF is trying to become recognized by Congress as an organization, much like a special interest group, to get laws passed that prevent animal cruelty, including in homes and laboratories all across the nation. Although testing is an important aspect of scientific research, it is not appropriate to do evil, out of the ordinary tests on animals. In order to test how harmful certain products, such as cosmetics and household cleaners, are to humans, the products are first tested on animals. According to People for the Ethnical Treatment of Animals (PETA), many companies, such as Johnson and Johnson, Clorox, Lysol, and Avon, use animals to test their products. Everyday items, such as band-aids, shampoo, sunscreen, cosmetics, and human hair removal products are …show more content…
George Wright and Steven Hoagland, authors of the article “Counterpoint: Animal Testing Is Cruel and Immoral Regardless Of The Benefits Associated With It,” point out that “animals may, in some way, experience less pain than humans” (Wright and Hoagland). The authors argue and acknowledge that, “Mammals all have similar nerve structures for feeling pain. The squeal of a pig and the yelp of a puppy does not indicate less pain than the 'ouch!' of a human” (Wright and Hoagland). Torture on any living thing, no matter whether human or animal, is and always will be hurtful; it has the same effect no matter what type of species. As mentioned in the article, animals have a similar nervous systems to humans, meaning that if humans were tested instead of animals, humans may have a more negative view of animal testing than they do currently. Even though animals do not belong in the human species they should still be treated with the same respect we give to human beings. Although humans and mammals have similar anatomical structures, such as the nervous system, the skin, and the eyes, DNA and other organs are not similar to human anatomy. This means that the tests done for human benefit on animal organs are not necessarily bringing scientists or researchers any closer to finding a cure for certain diseases found only in humans. If anything, animal testing is a waste of time and money since the human population hardly sees any