Arguments Against Animal Testing

Animal testing may be viewed as cruel or evil, but it’s truly invaluable. The deciding factor if you agree or disagree with animal testing is the ethical part, if you believe that the pros outweigh the cons. Animal testing has given us countless contributions, which strengthen not only us but also the animals. Animal testing has cured many illnesses, also improved our health as we live longer than before, however there is no alternative that works as well as animal testing.

Animal testing has contributed to many life-saving cures and treatments. The California biomedical Research Association states, “nearly every medical breakthrough in the last 100 years has resulted directly from animal testing.” Examples are experiments, in which dogs had

From antibiotics to blood transfusions, from dialysis to organ transplantation, from vaccinations to chemotherapy, bypass surgery and joint replacement, practically every present-day protocol for the prevention, treatment, cure and control of disease, pain and suffering is based on knowledge attained through research with lab animals.” (Benefits, Pro-Test: Standing up for Science, pp 1) Animal research improves human health it is for this reason why it’s necessary. (Ian Murnaghan, Using Animals For Testing, 2013, pp 1) People embracing this argument feel that animal research is vital to the continued development of human medicine. They believe that it is important if we are to guarantee the safety of potentially dangerous products. (Animal Testing, The Animal Rights Debate, pp 1) Animal research has played a tremendous part in life expectancy at birth increasing it by 10.7%. Animal testing has also given us new cancer drugs, which account for 50-60 percent of the gains we have made in cancer survivability rates since 1975. Until recently, surgery, radiation, therapy and chemotherapy, were the dominant treatments. Thanks in large to animal based research, there is a new molecular and genetic understanding of tumor biology, leading to treatments that set out to more directly kill cancer cells. (Animal Research Benefits, 2014, pp

(Animal Research Benefits, 2014, pp 1) Animal testing is seen as the best option for medical progress far better than any computer simulation or non-living model could ever be. Many people that agree with animal testing admit that it’s unfortunate that animals must sometimes suffer, but they feel if the pain is a small price to pay if it advances science. Animals are appropriate research subjects because they are so similar to humans in many ways. Chimpanzees share 99% of their DNA with humans, and mice are 98% genetically similar. All mammals, including humans, are descended from common ancestors, and all have the same set of organs (heart, kidneys, lungs, etc.) that function essentially the same way. Because animals and humans are so similar Parkinson’s research has advanced to the point of halting the disease progression and even preventing Parkinson’s are considered realistic goals. In animal studies, this family of proteins has revived dormant brain cells, caused them to produce dopamine and prompted dramatic improvement of symptoms; as a result it could stop Parkinson’s disease. (Animal-Testing Pros-Cons, 2014, pp