Arguments Against Animal Testing

Nearly all medicine used today had to be tested on animals for it to be safe to sell and use. No amount of “Of course this is safe,” or, “Trust me it does no harm,” can be passed off as safe so animal testing acts as a safety net so if the product is dangerous, no humans will be affected. If no testing was done on the drug before it is sold people could be injured or even die so humans had to figure out a way around this. Thus the practice of testing on animals was born. The first signs of testing on animals for biomedical reasons was during the Greek period where physician-scientists such as Aristotle and Erasistratus performed experiments on living organisms. Today, the ethics behind animal testing is furiously debated around scientists

Aysha Akhtar states that “...even if considerable congruence were shown between an animal model and its corresponding human disease, interspecies differences in physiology, behavior, pharmacokinetics, and genetics would significantly limit the reliability of animal studies, even after a substantial investment to improve such studies”(Akhtar). Others who support the use of animals to test medication like Claude Bernard say that “...experiments on animals are entirely conclusive for the toxicology and hygiene of man. The effects of these substances are the same on man as on animals, save for differences in degree.”(Bernard) Opposers also say that the use of animals in experimentation can be cruel and inhumane. Organizations such as Neaves and Peta support this claim and have explained on some articles that “In research and testing, animals are subjected to experiments that can include everything from testing new drugs to infecting with diseases, poisoning for toxicity testing, burning skin, causing brain damage, implanting electrodes into the brain, maiming, blinding, and other painful and invasive procedures”(Neaves). Many researchers who support animal testing also support this claim but have implemented and refined protocols such as the 3Rs. The 3Rs protocol calls for the replacement of animals, reduction of the amount of animals used for an experiment and refinement so animals face minimal pain during the experiment. The third argument states that the use of animals is torture. According to Neaves “...animals used in chronic toxicity and carcinogenicity studies receive the test substance daily, seven days a week, for up to two years with no recovery periods”(Neaves). Recherche Animale, an organization supporting the use of animals in testing, think otherwise.”Ethics committees and research teams systematically make sure to prevent, detect, reduce or eliminate pain. The use of anesthesia is systematic unless it