Animal Testing: The Humane Thing To Do

Human Based Testing: The Humane Thing To Do
Animal testing has existed in research since the time of Aristotle, famous philosopher and scientist, who conducted tests on animals. It is understandable that Aristotle used animal testing as in those days there existed no technological alternatives that could be used to execute experiments (Hajar [Page 1]). In the times of Aristotle, there was no modern medicine and scientists did not understand even the basics of the human body. So it is only logical that in those days scientists concluded that the most efficient way to conduct experiments was through testing on animals. However, today the use of animals in research cannot be justified as there are existing alternatives that are more viable than

Because most countries do not report their use of animals in lab experiments, the total numbers are expected to be far higher than reported. The lack of accountability present in animal testing is only one example of the flaws in the animal testing method. As scientists, it is our duty to be mindful of the impact of our actions and this includes properly accounting of all animals affected by animal testing. Because of animal testing, over 115 million animals are given no say in what testing methods are used on them and furthermore not many laws are in place ensuring their safety. This brutality is disregarded and the use of animal testing still prevails. The ethical advantages of human based testing is not a divisive topic; there are no animals involuntarily harmed through human based testing and all human test subjects that are used in scientific research are volunteers. However, the Animal welfare act provides very minimal protection for animals and it is the only law that is in place to protect animals undergoing scientific experiments ("Harm and Suffering"). In animal testing, animals that are used in scientific experiments are subject to being injected with disease, poisoned to test toxicity, undergoing electric shock, repeated breeding, high levels of stress, etc. To replace the use of such brutal testing methods, labs are switching to more humane forms of testing. For example, CeeTox is a lab that employs human based testing methods to test cosmetics and other potentially dangerous chemicals. The use of human cell cultures replaces the need for testing on animals using harmful methods such as inserting dangerous chemicals into their body parts. Furthermore this lab collaborates with the Food and Drug