Animal testing has been a controversial issue for the past thirty years. Society feels as if animal testing is a technique of the past and should be outlawed in the United States like the majority of the world. Federal law shows us how little protection animals have, numerous recalled or discontinued medications are proof that research on animals to predict effects on the human body is highly unreliable. The humane society provides numerous examples of the cruel treatments and conditions animals must endure. Scientists have presented us with alternatives that are more cost-effective and produce less waste with higher accuracy rates. Signed into law in 1966, the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) is the only federal law in the United States regulating the treatment of animals undergoing …show more content…
They endure chemicals being dripped into their eyes, forced up their nostrils and down their throats. They are addicted to drugs, burned, deafened, electrocuted and dissected without any form of pain medication. All of these treatments are exempt from anti-cruelty statutes. One such examples of these atrocities is that of a study including a marmoset monkey. The marmoset was injected in the stomach with MPTP, which is known to cause symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, progressive, neurodegenerative movement disorder. After a series of injections the monkey’s ability to move quickly dissipated and he began experiencing tremors. Before long the monkey had lost body weight and was unable to balance on his perch, he had to be hand fed, given extra fluids and had to be kept warm. They stopped the injections allowing the marmoset to slowly recover, it took several weeks to regain movement, and however he still had a slight tremor. They then used this monkey to test the effectiveness of a potential drug for Parkinson’s. This potential drug is also injected into the monkey’s