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Animal Testing Arguments

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Animal testing refers to experiments using animals to make discoveries in science and check the safety of products like cosmetics, food, and chemicals (HSI, 2004). Annually, over 100 million animals are used in scientific experiments and medical research worldwide (Taylor, Gordon, Langley, & Higgins, 2008). In comparison with the past, animal testing is now becoming even more prevalent. The quantity of rats and mice used in research has been increasing by approximately 20% per year and is expected to keep growing (Robert, Jacoby & Russell, 1998). The morality of this issue is currently being debated because conservationists are concerned about the animal rights. Hence, different perspectives emerged. Some people believe that animal experimentation …show more content…
This argument is based on the premise that their organisms have many similarities and testing unknown things on people is unacceptable. Walker, Nelson and Bernal (2007) reported that primates and people share same genetics, fundamental cell processes, and physical mechanisms for breathing, movement, digestion and reproduction. This shows that due to such physiological similarities, it is possible to use primates to study human diseases. Although the study concedes that not all species and strains of animals are suitable for research, it does not emphasize that even testing on species the most similar to humans, ended up with failure in many cases. Zurlo (2012) indicates in his work, that some treatments which were successfully tested on animals show the adverse effects on people: tests predict the results correctly only for 43%. The researcher also remarks there are 700 new chemicals being introduced each year. This means that we are not able to check all chemicals for toxicity by animal procedures. If substances are continually used on animals, a large amount of people could suffer from side effects. The findings of Zurlo (2012) supported by accurate experimental statistics refute the argument of Gad, Walker, Nelson and Bernal (2007), since their study did not give sufficient evidence to suggest that it is likely to predict the consequences of treatments by testing them on …show more content…
Apart from physiological similarities, people and animals have psychological connections. Ferdowsian and Beck (2008) claim in their work that it is proved by scientists and ethicists that animals also have a potential to experience pain. A harm done to animals opposes the regulations of U.S. “Animal Welfare Act” of 1966. This demonstrates that the way how animals are treated during experiments is not considered as appropriate. Painful procedures, injections, and deprivation of physiological needs cause a great harm to animals. Feeling pain throughout experimentations leads to the occurrence of diseases, changes in behavior and physiological perception of animals. As a consequence, the quality of gained results will decrease. The study concludes that animal protection needs to be strengthened. The argument is valid, because it considers cognitive and emotional capabilities of animals, taking into an account various factors that could affect animal behaviour. It strongly indicates the importance of ethics and animal rights in

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