Tuesday, January 18, 2011

sydnie...animal testing.

*not done but i need to be able to get it at home.

                                                     Animal Testing

         A majority of the population thinks that animal testing is unsubstantial and unfair, although, many people and scientists are for the idea. Every year, millions of animals undergo painful suffering or death as a result of scientific research to test the effects of cosmetics and new medicines on animals. Many people are opposed to the idea of having animals being tested on for the sake of developing new products; however, some people are for it. They think that it' a great idea to test the new ideas on animals before it’s okay for humans to use. This has been going on for centuries now and we need to think of the alternatives.

         Ever since the 17th century, dating back to ancient Greeks, scientists have been testing on animals to find out if new cosmetics and medicines are safe for human use. Long ago, animals were worshipped, so what made people have the change of mind and start dissecting animals and running painful tests on them? The main reason is because there were many diseases at the time and no cures for them. They had to do something to test the new products to see if they’re safe. Eventually, animal testing became more profound and more common in the lab, but that still doesn’t mean it’s okay.

         Many people are very upset at the thought of animals being tested on. Scientists know of alternatives, but decide to test on animals for a better result. Aaron Loftman, a reporter from Western Animal Rights Network stated, "We have other sources to use. For example, we could use newer scanning techniques or computer models. It's the same thing; it just eliminates the needless suffering." (http://www.animalliberation.co.uk) Many people agree with this because the idea itself is so true. There is no need for animals to be tortured when other possible solutions are available. Lisa Rebarn, a writer from the CAAT (Coalition to Abolish Animal Testing) had said something along the lines of that also. "Why test on animals? It's not fair to them, they can't speak for themselves. We our their voice in this case." (http://www.ohsukillsprimates.com/quotes.html) Lisa is trying to say that animals can't talk so they have no say if they get tested on. If scientists would just use the alternatives that are available, it would put an end to testing on the animals and would silence all the people that are upset at the thought. We, the humans, have to speak for them and put an end to all of this.

         On the other hand, some people think that testing on animals is inhumane, but would you rather them be testing on humans? Scientists use rabbits and lab rats and many other animals because of their similarities with humans and their short lifespan. They are able to test the new products and then dissect the deceased animal and see what the internal effects were. Scientists also test on animals because when an animal gives birth, they give birth to a litter of 9-12 offspring and for humans, it takes 9 months for a child to be born. But, there are some benefits of all this. It does save the lives of millions. If they didn’t test the new medicines on animals, then we would have never found cures to many diseases. Caroline Flint had said, "Until suitable alternatives are found, this vital work should continue so that hundreds of millions more lives can be saved in the future" (http://www.animalresearch.info/en/facts/quotes/flint). In the eyes of some people, the lives of animals are less significant than human lives and that’s what Caroline is trying to say. The Wellcome Trust also had said, "Research using animals has made an important contribution to advances in medicine and surgery." (http://www.animalresearch.info/en/facts/quotes/wtrust93). This is very straight-forward. Using animals does indeed help us with our research, but some people still think it's wrong.

                  So as you can see, people have many different opinions on animal testing and we just need to use the alternatives to end all the suffering. It goes both ways, yes there are benefits to animal testing, but we have other solutions that will work just as well.  We are their voice and it's time to speak up!

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