Animal Testing

Introduction

Animal testing has been conducted in research and medicine since a very long time. Animal testing leads to the formation of three groups of people. The first group is one that supports animal testing, the second group that opposes it and the third group that has no interesting in the subject(PETA, pp.A1).

Animals that include invertebrates, rats, mice, birds, frogs, fish and others, act as subjects for such testing purposes. Numerous universities and colleges, research centers, pharmaceutical companies, technical institutes and medical schools use these animals for carrying out experimentation for research purposes in order to try their inventions on them and register the findings.

Till the time the tests on these animals give the desired results, the study does not qualify to be implemented on the human beings. A large number of animal welfare campaigns, as well as, animal rights organizations have raised questions about the legitimacy of animal testing. The most crucial issues in this regard are animal cruelty, inappropriate scientific methods and practices, unreliability of results in humans and the ethical principle that animals like other living beings have a right of not being used for laboratory testing and experimentation.

However, it is very important to understand that it is because of these testing practices that we have been able to develop treatment options for a wide range of diseases and illnesses, and, therefore, opposing them and calling for an immediate end to these is not going to promote a healthy world.

Background

The case for animal welfare is perhaps the strongest for household pets. According to a survey conducted by the Humane Society of the United States in 2009, estimates suggest that 39 percent of American households owns at least one dog. In general, animals as pets evoke the strongest emotional ties with humans (Dennis & Melvin, pp.323). It is not surprising then that incidences of pet abuse or abandonment provoked strong condemnation from many people, particularly pet owners. The majority of pets, however, receive reasonable treatment from their owners, and it is fair to say that animals as pets have the highest level of welfare compared to their counterparts in other spaces of interaction. One explanation for this is that people do not see these pets as mere utilitarian objects, compared with other types of animal use(Information for Review of Activities Involving Animals, pp.13).

In recent years, there the intensified production methods of the modern meat industry have received increased attention. Large animal factories intent on producing more meat at a shorter time supposedly compromise on the well-being of the animals. Animal rights groups have surreptitiously exposed how livestock are born, reared, and slaughtered in appalling conditions, in the modern meat production system. Responding to such criticisms, the United Kingdom has adopted five key principles of “freedom” that provide a global standard in ensuring the welfare of livestock. These principles are freedom from malnutrition, thermal and physical discomfort, injury and disease, fear and stress, and freedom to express most normal patterns of behavior. The welfare of livestock animals has gained comparatively less attention among the general population because of ...