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The Controversy of Testing on Animals Essay

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The Controversy of Testing on Animals

Facilities that use animals for teaching, experimentations, surgery or testing purposes are known as research facilities. Currently, there are twelve animal research facilities in the state of Alabama ("General Information on Animal Research"). There are many different reasons why animals are used for research. Animals are used to test the products used in cosmetics, for biomedical research, for military defense and food production. Many people including the general public, scientists and government officials do not necessarily agree to the terms and conditions to which these animals are used for testing
The optimistic viewpoints for animal testing are that it assists researchers in finding …show more content…

This is an upsetting topic but everyone should be aware of animals being used when purchasing a product. Some products say – no animal testing involved in its development. Product testing is commonly performed on animals in order to measure the effects of the substances used in the making of cosmetics. In performing these tests, substances are placed in the eyes of conscious rabbits to assess damage to sensitive eye tissues. This is very painful for the rabbits, who often scream when the substances are applied and sometimes break their necks or backs trying to escape the restraints. Another unethical side of animal research is that once a study is complete and depending on the species and type of research that the animal was used for, the animal may be euthanized. Numerous animals are used in research, experimented on and then killed. Some of the animals are permanently injured and will continue to live the remainder of their life in captivity. Many of these animals were given tests for substances that will never seek approval for public consumption or use.
Another adverse affect of animals being used for testing and research purposes is that the experiments are very expensive because the animals must be fed, given shelter, and properly cared for. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) enforces the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to protect certain animals from inhumane treatment and neglect ("United States

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