Animal Experimentation

Introduction

Animal experimentation can be defined as the use of nondestructive and destructive testing upon various animals in order to understand the procedures of animal and human emotions, thought processes and behaviors in a better way. The use of animals for medical and biological research has advanced knowledge in related subjects, saved human lives, and alleviated sufferings. The use of animals for testing cosmetics and other consumer products has prevented the use and distribution of hazardous products.

Every year in laboratories, in the United States and around the world, tens of millions of animals are used for carrying out scientific experiments to test everything from suspected carcinogens to the toxicity of anti per spirants. Scientists and animal researchers concede that some animals suffer physical or mental pain in the course of this research, but they defend experiments of this kind as essential to human health. Many of the medical breakthroughs of the past century resulted from research using laboratory animals. Most Americans accept the use of animals in scientific research as a necessary, if unfortunate, consequence of society's need to experiment on nonhuman for the sake of the society.

Discussion

Advances in medicine have provided mankind with immense and a widespread benefit, and the linchpin to these crucial developments has been the use of animals in medical experiments (Pietro, 359). For thousands of years, animal experimentation has played a pivotal role in the study of the human body and its ailments. With the threat of viral plagues and other medical emergencies always looming, it is no exaggeration to say that the continued use of animals in medical research is of critical importance to human welfare (LaFollette and Shanks, 60). Nevertheless, this essential analytical tool is being seriously threatened by animal rights activist who propose restrictions on animal experimentation that would severely limit its use or eliminate it altogether. Those who favor the abolition of animal experiments may dispute that the benefits of these experiments are all substantial. These experiments are carried out to benefit the human beings and this gain can never be used to justify the animal loss, while conceding that many human advances in medicine have come at the cost of animal suffering and loss of animal life (Anita, 253).

Humans and animals have many biological similarities, and with these similarities, scientists can find out how humans might react to cosmetics, medicines and chemicals and other products by testing them on animals first. Scientists need to understand exactly how the human body works and how diseases affect the human body. In order to treat the diseases, researchers introduce bacteria, a virus, or other substance that causes disease in animals. Then, they watch what happens to the animals after they give those animals different therapies and medicines. Animals naturally get many of the same diseases as humans (including cancer), and they often react in the same way as humans to medications. These are two reasons why scientists say animals make good models in studying whether treatments are safe and effective for people (Steven, ...