The subject of animal testing remains a moral issue that draws different reactions globally. In essence, it entails the utilization of non-human animals in the experiment that seeks to manipulate the variables that influence their biological system under study. In the recent years, animal experiments have increasingly been adopted as research tools by various scientists and research agencies. They entail the use of live animals such as rats, rabbits, cats, dogs, sheep, and cattle among others. These are considered important in experimentations aimed at studying behavioral studies, genetics, biology, and developmental biology (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Animal experiments are also widely used in cosmetic testing, drug and toxicological tests, biomedical research, and xenotransplantation. While the debates continue to trend in the United States as to whether animal experiments should be banned, this paper takes a firm stand that they should be completely banned based on various arguments.
Firstly, animals, just like human beings have rights. As animals’ rights activists propose, animals too have rights, which should not be violated. Animals are considered to have equal rights not because they are the same as human beings, but because they live among us (Eadie 11). Animals have privileges to live, freedom, and choice, which should not be violated in the name of scientific research (Eadie 13).
Secondly, animal experiments comprise bad science. Twomey confirms a report by the Foods and Drug Administration that a vast proportion of drugs that successfully pass tests in animals are unviable for human use (161). Scientists and researchers tend to ignore the fact that people and animals are different. As such, expected test outcomes can never be the same. Based on this, experimentation on animals is unwarranted.
Thirdly, there are better and more productive alternatives to animal testing. There are many less costly, faster, and easier alternative methods to research rather than animals (Animals Australia). In the wake of advanced technological and scientific infrastructures, it is possible to develop animal models to substitute the use of live animals. The approach would save lives of the millions of animals that die annually in the name of research. Still, some experts state that animal testing is justified due to the benefit that it brings to the population. For example, when the scientists reach a conclusion concerning the effectiveness of a certain drug, they will publicly declare it safe for public consumption. The society would have, therefore, benefited from the model. In this case, the community forms the largest population that acquires the benefit. Animal testing is, therefore, morally right. However, the animals are subjected to pain and suffering as their biological system changes to accommodate the foreign substance in the body. Thus, animal testing is totally unethical and humans must invent new ways of testing.
In conclusion, this paper has presented an argument that experimentation on animals should be banned. The paper’s arguments are based on the opinions that animals have rights just as human beings, testing on animals is bad science, and there are better and more productive alternative methods to animal testing. Therefore, animal testing in the name of scientific research needs to be halted immediately.
Works Cited
Animals Australia. Animal Experimentation. Animals Australia, 2015. Web. Accessed 29th June 2016.
Eadie, Edward. Experimentation on Animals. Understanding Animal Welfare. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2012: 7-18.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, (PETA). Animals Used For Experimentation. PETA, 2015. Web. Accessed 29th June 2016.
Twomey, D. Vincent. Experimentation on Animals. Irish Theological Quarterly 69.2 (2004): 157-175.
