Animal testing has become increasingly controversial since its advent, dating back 150 years (Understanding Animal Research 1). While testing vaccines and drugs on animals has been a successful technique for scientists for decades, it may be seen as cruel and immoral by some because it involves harming and even killing over 100 million animals every year (Collins 1). However, this technique has prevented many dangerous drugs from reaching the public and proved to successfully change the lives of many struggling with diseases that were once thought to be incurable. Animal testing seems inhumane at times, but it has contributed to the development of many life saving treatments.
In spite of assertions made by animal rights activists, it is evident that animal-based research has notably augmented the length and quality of human lives. Examples of this can be found right in the womb. “Every 4 and a half minutes, a baby is born with a birth defect [in the
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“When a researcher or attending veterinarian feels that analgesics, anesthesia, or tranquilizers will confound the results of an experiment, pain relief can be legally withheld” (Harm and Suffering 1). Policies to prevent the pain of testing, especially in terms of cosmetics, would be greatly appreciated by animals. Some of the ways animals are used to study the effects of cosmetics are “oral force-feeding studies lasting weeks or months to look for signs of general illness or specific health hazards, such as cancer or birth defects and widely condemned “lethal dose” tests, in which animals are forced to swallow massive amounts of a test chemical to determine the dose that causes death” (About Cosmetics Animal Testing 1). Animals are forced to go through immensely painful tests and even though they do benefit humans greatly, there are definitely ways to reduce the pain without causing