Arguments Against Animal Testing

Ambur Francis

English 3

12/8/2016

Animal Testing

Animal testing is procedures performed on living animals for medical and commercial research. These procedures, even those marked as “mild”, have the capacity to cause physical and mental harm to the animal. While most animals are discarded after the experiment has come to a close, some animals are used again in consequential experiments. Animal testing should be banned in the United States, as it is unreliable, wasteful, and dangerous. Animal testing is an unreliable and sometimes unpredictable practice. While animal testing has helped find vaccines for smallpox, rabies, and anthrax; there are diseases that animal testing has yet to find for humans, such as cancer. Dr. Richard Klausner, former

The U.S. drug industry invests $50 billion per year in animal testing related research, but the approval rate of new drugs is the same as it was 50 years ago. Dr. Jane Goodall touches on the topic of wasteful animal testing in the foreword to Sacred Cows and Golden Geese: The Human Cost of Experiments on Animals, stating “I have a growing conviction that many animal data are not only obtained unethically, at huge cost in animal suffering, but are also unscientific, misleading, wasteful (in terms of dollars and effort) and may be actually harmful to humans.” Wasteful animal testing not only impacts the animals falling victim to the experiments but also humans, in a materialistic and possibly physical

The rodent has already gone through one round of injections, which has caused masses to grow on its back. By the way the rodent’s hands are in a nervous, frightened position the viewer can understand how it is feeling. The cheerfulness of the doctor makes the view sympathize with the rodent even more. This cartoon makes the view feel the same as the rodent. The obvious concern is if animal testing is banned what will replace it. Recent developments have given two promising options. Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have developed and are testing technology that replicates vital human tissues on microchips. Also, developments in stem cell research have presented it as a possible replacement for animals in toxicological testing. While these two options are still being developed, they look very