Premium Essay

Animal Experimentation In Research

Submitted By
Words 1152
Pages 5
Animal Experimentation has played a crucial role in medical advancements and medical training in the United States and around the globe for multiple decades now. In order for new medicines, treatments, and surgical procedures to be allowed legally, they have to proven to be safe and effective by government funded organizations, like the FDA. Animals used in research have been proven necessary for these newly founded medicines, treatments, and procedures to be brought into practice. For instance, kidney and liver transplantation. This type of research, animal experimentation, has lead the way for new drugs as well. While scientists search for a drug to cure Alzheimer’s Disease, my grandfather, William G. Jenkins, has passed away from the …show more content…
In those times vivisection was typical procedure or method for experimentation (Driscoll and Finley). According to Encyclopedia Britannica, vivisection is defined as an, “operation on a living animal for experimental rather than healing purposes; more broadly, all experimentation on live animals” (“vivisection”). When people think “experiments on live animals,” they often times think of it as, taking a scalpel to a live animal killing it. Although that may be the case for ancient times, that is not the case today. In today’s experimental research, scientist try to do little harm to the animal, meaning they try as hard as possible so that the subject is not disturbed or is agitated as little as possible without altering the research (in text). However, to ensure that the animal subjects are not harmed extensively, “there are two federal laws that govern the use of animals in experiments. One is the Health Research Extension Act of 1985. The other is Animal Welfare Act of 1993” (“Animal Research”). The newer of the two, Animal Welfare Act, states one must have a certified veterinarian at the facilities and also lists off specific and detailed requirements for cats, dogs, and nonhuman primates (Crawford). Along with a veterinarian on site, there are a strict set of guidelines to obtain a license, like being involved with an approved research or testing program, being qualified to carry …show more content…
When doctors, scientist, and P.E.T.A. say animals they are referring to rodents. Approximately 95 percent of animals used in research, particularly medical, are disease carrying rats and mice (Driscoll and Finley). However, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, stand by the mantra “animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, here for our entertainment, and not ours to abuse in any way” (Animal Rights). The organization and their activist hold on to the belief that all animals have rights, even rodents. Rats have the same rights as I do? If the nation agrees to what P.E.T.A is proposing, we are agreeing to giving rodents the same rights as humans. Although it is inhumane to blatantly abuse rodents, using them in testing is not abusive, unethical, inhumane or immoral. Using animals to understand deadly diseases, to prevent, and cure them in the future is anything but wrong,however, using them to beautify someone can be unethical. Scientists conduct research under idea of the “three R’s.” The R’s consist of replace, reduce, and refine. Under the principle of refine, scientists and doctors civilize the testing to make certain that the animals suffer as little pain as possible. Doing so by improving housing and the way procedures are carried out to better the animal’s welfare (Understanding Animal Research). Finding cures and medicines to fatal illnesses outweighs any small pain

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Animal Cruelty

...Part IV Katie Schulz Mrs. Polski Modern Problems May 2, 2013 Introduction~ Animal experimentation began in the early 3rd and 4th centuries BCE with the Greeks performing the first experiments on living animals. Ever since these early periods there has been a search to answer the question of whether animal testing is ethical. This question is proposed due to the suffering of animals during medical experimentation. Veterinarian, Peter M. Henrickson, found this to be the case in his experience during a veterinary class. The research began on Rodney a shepherd mix. “The first thing we did was neuter him, a seemingly benign project, except it took us an hour to complete the usual 20-minute procedure, and an anesthetic overdose kept him out for 36 hours. Afterward, he recovered his strength quickly and felt good” (Henrickson, Par. 4). They then proceeded to do an abdominal exploratory, opening his abdomen and then closing him again. “This was the first major surgery for any of us, and, with inadequate supervision, we did not close him properly. By the next morning, his incision had opened and he was sitting on his small intestine. Hastily, we sewed him up again, and he survived. But it was a week or more before he could resume walks he had come to eagerly anticipate” (Henrickson, Par. 6). After Rodney’s slow recovery they once again put him under anesthesia. “We broke his leg and repaired it with a steel pin. After this, Rodney seemed in almost constant pain, his temperature...

Words: 5691 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

Animal Testing? Is It Unethical?

...Animal Experimentation: Unethical or Unnatural? Animal research has had a vital role in many scientific and medical advances of the past century and continues to aid our understanding of various diseases. Throughout the world, people enjoy a better quality of life because of these advances, and the subsequent development of new medicines and treatments are all made possible by animal research. However, the use of animals in scientific and medical research has been a subject of heated debate for many years. Opponents to any kind of animal research, including both extreme sides of animal-activist groups believe that animal experimentation is cruel and unnecessary, regardless of its purpose or benefit. There is no middle ground for these groups; they want the immediate and total abolition of all animal research. If they succeed, it would have enormous and severe consequences for scientific research. Animal experimentation has been practiced since ancient times, when the ancient Greeks killed and dissected animals for scientific and religious purposes. Vivisection continued throughout ancient times and into the Christian era, becoming a replacement for human dissection when the Catholic Church banned autopsies. Animals were treated as insensitive objects, mere automatons incapable of pain or emotion. By the 1800s, science and medicine were moving forward at unprecedented rates. Germs were discovered and vaccines invented; pills were created and diseases eradicated. Animals were...

Words: 1666 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Persuasive Essay Against Animal Testing

...Animal Testing and Experimentation Imagine a small dog locked in a kennel for the majority of its life while being used for chemical and drug testing. Many die before they are saved by rescues. Riley is one of the lucky ones who had the chance to start a new life. At the age of three years old, Riley got to see all of the things that he never got to see as a puppy. He saw grass and the sky for the first time. He finally got to play with toys and run around with other dogs. He got a chance at a new life with a family to love him for the duration of his days ("Beagles Rescued From Labs In Bay Area, Nation After Being Used For Chemical Testing"). Animal research and animal testing is unethical and unnecessary, it needs to be prohibited or the laws surrounding it need to be stricter to protect the safety of the animals. There are many important aspects when it comes to animal testing such as alternative methods, how necessary it is to test on the animals, the similarities and differences between animals and humans, where the animals come from, and if it is inhumane....

Words: 1448 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Is Animal Testing Justified?

...Introduction Whether animal experimentation is justified or not has been undecided for many decades. Many years back, the debate was carried out by animal rights groups which were led by the Cambridge University to get rid of its plan for a primate research in 2004. Since this debate, many supporters have become more confident in speaking out what they believe and getting their points across to people. In this written report, I will be including both sides of the argument which enable me to form my opinion as well as conclusion. Do you believe that animal testing is justified? Or do you believe its not? Well you will find out what I believe at the end of this report. What is animal experimentation? Animal testing is the use of non-human animals in scientific experimentation. Annually, it’s been estimated that 50 to 100 million vertebrate animals worldwide from zebra fish to non-human primates are used to experiment upon. Most animals after being experimented on, they are euthanized. Animal experimentation is used for many products such as cosmetics, drugs, household products, medication, industrial chemicals, pesticides and several more. [1] How did animal experimentation begin? The history of animal experimentation goes right back to the writings of the Greeks in the 3rd and 4th centuries BCE. Aristotle and Erasistratus were the first to perform experiments on living animals. Galen also known as the “father of vivisection” was a physician in the 2nd century...

Words: 3683 - Pages: 15

Free Essay

Animal Research

...Argumentative Essay.docx2/ 4 Baneen ZiaUH Honors CollegeEvery year, millions of animals suffer tremendous pain as a result of scientific studies, commercial testing, and medical research in the United States. Animal testing, the method of using non—humans in means of research, requires the captivity of animal in order to experiment for human breakthroughs and advancements. Although a few of the countless experiments performed contribute to the act of improving lives through the discovery of cures, researchers risk the lives of many and harm these animals in the process. The natural lives of animals become disrupted and these animals forcefully enter studies in which they will most likely undergo pain or, unfortunately, death. The unjust and inhumane treatment of animals in experimentations to innovate and benefit the human race is unnecessary, misleading, and unethical, and therefore, should not be performed for biomedical research. Animal testing estimates 26 million animals used for biomedical research each year in America. By testing the toxicity of drugs or the effectiveness of medications, scientists use animals to understand the human body without actually causing harm to it. The three methods of testing include toxicology research, pure research, and applied research for an under the intentionof discovering effects of such medications and bearing direct outcomes. Scientific researchers use animals to understand the human anatomy without causing impairment to the human race...

Words: 1217 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Animal Experimentation

...Animal experimentation has been a controversy throughout the world; many people agree and others disagree. However, there is more research that shows that animal experimentation helps find cures for diseases, helps understand how the human body works, and on the development of antibodies and vaccines. Animal experimentation is very beneficial in medicine. “Animal experimentation has played a part in many major advances such as the development of antibodies, vaccines, and surgical techniques”(Source 1). Humans and some animals such as mice, rats, and chimpanzees share “physiological and genetic similarities”(Source 2) making animal experimentation tremendously helpful for further medical science. “Chimpanzees share 99% of their DNA with humans, and mice are 98% genetically similar to humans”(Source 3). Making chimpanzees and mice good candidates for animal experimentation because of their close genetic similarity with humans. Animals not only have been used in testing; they have also been used in the military and in space. “Since as early as 1948, animals have been used by the U.S space program for testing such aspects of space travel”(Source 3). In which include a variety of animals such as rats, mice, fish, crickets, and snails that have also been launched into space for neurological testing. Animals have also played an important role in the military. “The U.S Department of Defense used 488,237 animals for research and combat trauma training”(Source 3). Which included...

Words: 476 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Smoking Increases Life Expectancy

...In this photo by PETA, it demonstrates an experiment which needs doesn’t need to be researched as the public is aware that smoking decreases life expectancy on humans by a few years. Furthermore, dogs have a short life expectancy to begin with, compared to humans. Which is why I think researchers need to use their research, resources, and funding to more promising research projects rather than testing animals on research we’ve already discovered — such as the effects of smoking and how it can shorten the average humans lifespan. The act of making dogs smoke and declaring it as research just seems malicious, cruel, and pointless research since there is no real benefit for the dogs to being smoking, similar to how there is no health benefits...

Words: 436 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Pros and Cons of Animal Testing

...Position Paper – The Pros and Cons of Animal Experimentation The Pros and Cons of Animal Experimentation Animal research has had a major role in many scientific and medical advances. It has both its advantages and disadvantages. “Moreover,” animal experimentation is an extremely controversial subject that has divided people into a group that either support animal testing or oppose it all together, and another that advocates the use of alternatives. There are many pros and cons when it comes to this subject. People all over the world have different opinions on weather animal lab testing is humane and necessary. Animal experimentation is unethical due to the practice of animal torture and suffering, animal choice and death of these animals. Animal experimentation (noun): any type of experiment performed on living animals, especially in order to test the effects of chemical compounds such as new drugs, cosmetics, food additives and pesticides (Animal experimentation, 2001). All over the world, people think differently on whether animal experimentation is an appropriate way to test medicines and products. Each year in the United States, an estimated 70 million animals are maimed, blinded, scalded, force-fed chemicals, genetically manipulated, and otherwise hurt and killed in the name of science, by private institutions, household product and cosmetics companies, government agencies, educational institutions, and scientific centers. Substances we use every day, such...

Words: 1471 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Animal Testing Research Paper

...Instructor’s Name Course Date Some Enemies of Science & The Pain of Animals Argumentative Fronts Introduction Throughout the path of evolution, both the human species and animals have progressed; ironically, humans have as well taken form from ancient animals. The evolution of our mind and body have divorced us on the supposed hierarchy chain. Human beings who happened to be hunters akin to Paleolithic animals have presently grasped the dominant responsibility on earth. Inevitably, there are hindrances, for example, pollution and diseases that we cannot beat at the present moment; colds and diseases being the single killer of nearly a quarter of the entire life on earth. In fact, for years on end, animals have been by used by scientists to...

Words: 1282 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Senior Essay

... “Animal Experimentation” Every year millions of animals in the US are used for scientific and commercial experiments in order to create treatments and determine the safety of products or medications for human uses. The community must face the reality that the well being of animals must be sacrificed in order to successfully cure humanities’ diseases and prevent as many deaths as possible. Since there are many similarities within humans and animals, society was able to deepen understanding of the human body by continuously studying and experimenting on animals. For example, animal researchers have recently found a method to restore people’s visions using safe procedures after conducting several experiments on monkey and mice. However, people who are against the idea of animal experimentation argue that experimenting on them is inhumane and can be replaced animal experimentations by many other methods. Besides, those who opposes the idea would state that researchers are willing to allow animals to go through pain and suffering in order to protect humanity from the physical pain since the human race is selfish in general because society is only care focused on caring for the need and safely of themselves. Evidently, Aysha Akhtar is a neurologist and a public health specialist who brings up her experience at a neuroscience conference where a presenter shows a brief video clip of his animal experimentation, showing how gruesome the presenter was treating the animal. Therefore...

Words: 2974 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Describe The History Of The Galen Of Pergamum

...conduct various vivisections on the neighborhood pigs. No one in the city of Rome knew how he got his test subjects. All they knew was that he cut animals open without anesthetics to satisfy his curiosity of the human anatomy. Since it was considered illegal and punishable by hanging to...

Words: 1888 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Why Is Animal Testing Wrong

...My topic of research is animal research and testing, and as I have done the research on this topic, I have found many different opinions on how it either helps, or it’s hurting innocent animals for pointless research. As I look more and more into animal research and testing, I find that a minute number of people are doing anything. There are proven moments where this outrageous research has helped, but there more instances where it´s been proven wrong as well. Animal research helps further the field of science, yet its practices can yield both positive and negative outcomes. What happens to animals if they fail a test is they are put down, but during this testing, the worst part is they are poked and prodded. They are paralyzed, unable to...

Words: 1421 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Expanding Beyond Animal Testing

...Humans have a history of experimenting on animals, most often in the areas of medical  and cosmetics. Humanity would not exist as it is today if animal experimentation was eliminated.  The argument animal testing is useful cannot surpass its’ cruelty. With advancements in science  and medical technology, animal testing no longer stands as a morally justifiable option. Animal  testing lacks proof of necessity because it inhumanely abuses animals, carries inaccuracy, and is  outdated.  Animal experimentation is an abusive method of testing. Very minimal regulation in  procedures can be done to animals during experimentation. Abuse defined as a verb, means to  treat (a person or an animal) with violent cruelty, especially regularly or repeatedly. For research,  animal abuse remains allowed legal: “the only U.S. law that governs the use of animals in  laboratories, the Animal Welfare Act, allows animals to be burned, shocked, poisoned, isolated,  starved, forcibly restrained, addicted to drugs, and brain­damaged” (“Animal Testing is”). These  methods are unbelievably cruel and abusive, as this suffering of the animals is intentional.  Famous British philosopher Jeremy Bentham, famously proposed that “the question is not, can  they reason? nor can they talk? but can they suffer?” The question asked, states that defenders of  animal experimentation do not deny that animals suffer. Peter Singer, author of ​ Animal  Liberation​ , explains that scientists cannot deny animal abuse, while the book stresses the ...

Words: 1088 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Persuasive Essay Against Animal Testing

...Animal testing, an imperative and common procedure that has raised controversy regarding humanistic values, has been a long-lasting debated question in the scientific community. In the pursuit of scientific knowledge, animal testing has been undoubtedly essential: It has allowed for the development of new treatments and vaccines, and a better understanding of the human body. Without the sacrifices made in animal experimentation, medical, educational and commercial advancements could not be possible. For these reasons, it is evident that animals are a scientific necessity to the well-being of humanity, and should be used for experimentation. Animal testing refers to experimentation carried out on living animals for the purpose of research in basic...

Words: 754 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Inhumane Times

...Hobbes, the cat, has been under experimentation for most of his life. This is probably the last time that he will ever have to be experimented on again. Because, he probably wont make it through this time. The makers of Herbal Essences are about to force shampoo down his throat to see what happens to its organs. Even if the cat lives through the process, they are going to have to kill it to see which organs it could have damaged. If this was an actual human going through this deadly experiment, people would be in shock. Instead, scientists are testing whether or not swallowing shampoo would affect a cat. Testing on animals is a very disagreeable process that should not be allowed. Animal testing started a number of years ago to help provide humans with information. The process of animal testing is one of the most disturbing experiments ever done. Many cosmetics and personal care products are made every year and are put into the market after being tested on animals. Almost every product has been animal tested at some stage in its development. The website titled "Animals in Product Testing" stated, "...these products have gone through a long and complex testing process that leaves millions of animals mutilated, burned, poisoned and gassed in outmoded and unnecessary tests." From these different experiments, animals are often left with different diseases like Syphilis, herpes, or AIDS. Manufacturers of these different products say that they are performing these tests to assure...

Words: 1904 - Pages: 8