Arguments Against Animal Testing

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According to Humane Society International, the definition of animal testing is “the procedure performed on living animals for purposes of research.” These procedures can be used to analyze the effects of medicine, check the safety of products used daily by humans, or build an understanding of biology and disease. When one reviews all of the scientific research regarding animal cruelty, it is clear to see that the negative aspects of animal testing far outway the benefits that could come from it. This is proven through explanation of the historical context of this issue, statistics involving it, and alternatives that could be used in an effort to end animal testing. Before one can begin to argue the point that testing negatively affects animals, …show more content…

In Rachel Hajar’s article titled “Animal Testing and Medicine,” she states that animals being used in bioresearch dates back to B.C. years, specifically in Greece. Hajar explains that early Greek physician scientists such as Aristotle and Erasistratus experimented on animals, and that a Roman physician by the name of Galen used experiments specifically to understand anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. Later on, in the 12th century, an Arab physician named Ibn Zuhr began performing surgical procedures on animals to test for effectiveness, before completing the procedures on humans, (Hajar). These tests and other vivisections continued on for hundreds of years, and it wasn’t until domestication and adoption of animals began occurring that civilians began realizing the cruelty of what these physicians were doing, (“Background of the Issue”). Due to this, an …show more content…

This led to the founding of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) in 1966, a regulation on what is acceptable for housing and transportation of warm-blooded animals being used to test, and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (known as The Guide), establishing the minimum for housing, practice, and care standards for the animals being experimented on, (“Background of the