Animal Testing in Drug Industry

Ever since the beginning of human history, to the reign of the Mongols, and even to the colonization of the Americas, disease has played a role in shaping society. Its negative impacts has depopulated many cities, countries, and empires. In the distant past, it was quite difficult to avoid contagious diseases. However, in today’s society, steps have been taken to discover new effective modes of treatment through animal testing. Such testing; however, has proved to be quite a controversial issue due to ethics and its utilization of animals. Despite any objections, the use of genetically bred animals is imperative for the purpose of discovering new medications to treat various terminal diseases.

Through testing with animal research scientist have been able to create new cures and treat once thought incurable diseases. Many biomedical experiments developed treatments for anthrax, rabies, polio and smallpox, as well as developed anti-depressants, tranquilizers and antibiotics for medical use. Advocates of the opposition are hardly reasonable as their opinions are adjusted purely for emotional value. Their main argument is the fact that animal testing harms

Stated by Mahatma Gandhi, “The greatness of the nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. Medical research on animals is an effective way for scientist to test different medical discoveries and experiment before using them on humans to check their result. This technique has been used for centuries dating back to people such and Aristotle and Erasistratus. What exactly is medical research on animals? When we take a deeper look into the experiment that are preformed we can conclude that animals are a living model of humans in these laboratories. It is a necessity to harm and test animals with new drugs in order to market them in the medical industry to aid human illnesses. In order to better comprehend and regulate drugs one must understand what medical research on animals is described as and its benefits to pharmaceutical companies for humans. Exposure to the trials and tribulations that animal testing reveals how important it is for scientists to understand the negative effects they contribute to an animal’s welfare and life. In contrary animal testing has been used to save many human lives from consuming or using a drug that could have caused them life threatening illnesses.

Imagine being poked with a needle while being experimented on, only to be tested for a new drug, without consent. Would the process of undergoing countless experiments create an acceptable effect while producing a new medicine that would save lives? This controversial topic is the basic ‘behind closed doors’ when it comes to animal testing and research. The permissible use of animals for testing is becoming more common as the marketing industry produces more products. Not only are animals being used for their

A rabbit lives its life trapped in a laboratory. It doesn’t get fresh air and has different products tested on it every day. The product can make the rabbit go blind or cause its skin to burn, but there is nothing the rabbit can do about it. This is what happens to animals every day from cosmetic companies who test their products on animals. According to Cruelty Free Kitty (2017), over 30 cosmetic companies continue to use animal testing to improve their products. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2017), “the agency has consistently advised cosmetic manufactures to employ whatever testing is appropriate and effective for substantiating the safety of their products.” This means that if the company believes animal testing is the best option for their product they are allowed to do it. Testing cosmetics on animals is cruel and inhumane, and people should avoid using products that test on animals.

Every day, animals such as rabbits, chimpanzees, and mice take part of medical experimentation. “Chimpanzees share 99% of their DNA with humans, and mice are 98% genetically similar to humans. The United States and Gabon are the only two countries that allow experimentation on chimpanzees.” (The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada). What people don’t understand is that these animals contribute to medical discoveries regarding human health. Animals should be used for medical experimentation because they contribute to many cures and treatments that have saved lives, their genetic material appears to be similar to those of humans, they are similar to human beings in many ways, animals are the only organisms other than humans who we can experiment on, and the animals themselves benefit from the result of animal testing.

Imagine being poked and prodded with a needle, all to test for a new drug against

Many of us are unaware of the sheer number of animals that undergo constant suffering in the name of human vanity. Animal testing was originally introduced in the early 20th century and is still prominent today. It is morally unacceptable to experiment on animals for human purposes. The procedures used in animal testing are cruel and inhumane, nor are they the most reliable source of data; resulting in many mishaps. Moreover, with the perpetual advancements in technology, there are several alternative methods making animal testing unnecessary. If testing cosmetics and drugs on humans is unacceptable, what makes it acceptable to test on animals?

Experimentation on animals is cruel and unneeded. Because the results will never be identical to human results, testing of diseases on animals does not help human health (PETA). This shows that experimentation for diseases is pointless. According to PETA, “Although at least 85 HIV/AIDS vaccines have been successful in nonhuman primate studies, as of 2010, every one of nearly 200 preventive and therapeutic vaccine trials has failed to demonstrate benefit to humans.” This explains how animal testing is useless because it does not even help with human vaccines. PETA also claims, “Ninety-two percent of drugs—those that have been tested on animals and in vitro—do not make it through Phase 1 of human clinical trials.” This proves that testing drugs on animals does not help humans in any way. Not only is animal testing unnecessary, but is also very cruel to

The harmaful uses of animals in testing is not only cruel but often ineffective. Animals do not have the many types of cancers humans enconter, or HIV, Parkinson's diease even Schizophrenia. Many animals receive testing for different substances that is never actually seen approved for public use or consumption. It seems that the animals tested dies in vain because there is no direct benefit for humans. In animal testing, countless animal are experimented on and then they are killed after their use. Others are injured and will steal live their remainder of life in captivity. 95 percent of drugs fail in human trials

Smallpox has been around for a millennium, and claimed hundreds of millions of lives. Each death was tragic, but the last person to die by smallpox left behind one of the most wrenching tragedies of them all.

In the first place, when an animal is being tested for a medical reason it makes it extremely dangerous and unsafe for the animal. Many animals are getting hurt or killed in the process of testing for medical drugs for humans. According to Peta.org “more than 100 million animals - including mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, extra - are killed in U.S. laboratories each year.” Is it really worth it to test something that might kill an animal for our own personal gain?

Imagine being poked and prodded with a needle, all to test for a new drug against

In 2014 767,622 animals were used for medical research. Without these animals to test on we would have had to test on other human beings. Who would you rather test on, a rat, or a loved one? Medical animal testing is needed to keep moving forward in the medical fields and to keep our society strong.

Ferdowsian and Beck go on to add that more evidence supports that animal testing comes at a higher cost to animals than was initially acknowledged. Accounts of anxiety disorders, changes in behavior, hormone levels, and the amount of pain animals endure now drive the conversation regarding reforming animal testing practices. It is also noted that the predictive value of animal models do not translate into clinical success. The majority of animal research does not lead to improving human health. Most argue the use of animals overall is a needless endeavor when new technologies are in place that can provide similar levels of advancement, and when human tissue is available that can offer a better understand of human health.