Throughout history, animals have been considered beneficial to humans in different ways. Such benefits include food, skins for manufacturing clothes and shoes, as pet in homes, among others. However, the same creatures that were of great significance to humans are being harmed and tortured through testing. Animal testing refers to trying certain products on animals to ensure that they are safe for humans. Recently, there have been debates regarding animals' use as test models in experimental and medical research. According to Cheluvappa, Scowen & Eric (2017), proponents of animal testing claim that it aids in coming up with extra developed healthcare while opponents argue that it harms animals and humans alike. Animal testing is harms and kills innocent animals, causes diseases and death to humans, and have low success rates in humans.
Animal Testing is Unethical
The practice of using animals as test models is unethical due to the extent of harm it causes on them. Animals used as test models are subjected to water deprivation, forced inhalation of toxic fumes, involuntary feeding on pesticides, dripping highly corrosive chemicals into the sensitive eyes of animals such as rabbits, which may even lead to death ((Cruelty-Free International, 2020 ) . Animals are innocent and, therefore, should not be killed. Peta's research indicates that millions of primates, dogs, mice, cats, rabbits, rats, and other animals are usually locked in barren cages (Peta, 2018). Inside these cages, the animals are subjected to loneliness, extreme frustration and pain. Besides, killing animals through these processes makes the population of animals go down.
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Animal Testing is Unsafe on Humans
In addition, the drugs that are tested on animals have the potential of spreading other diseases and causing death among when used by humans. For instance, the Vioxx drug- a drug tested on animals- had been found to cure arthritis successfully in apes, such as monkeys and five other species but was established to cause approximately 320,000 strokes, heart attacks and death of about 140,000 when used by humans (Engel, 2012). Such is one of the tragedies resulting from relying on animal testing in finding treatments for human diseases. These tragedies reveal that even though some treatments may cure animals, they may be highly toxic and life-threatening to humans. In this regard, since animal testing products are inherently dangerous to humans, it is not guaranteed to be performed by scientists.
Animal Testing is Unreliable
Further to that, animal testing is unreliable, as predicted by its low success rate when tested in humans. Even though 90% of drugs have promising effects in animals, they tend to fail in human trials either because they do not work or pose safety risks to humans (Cruelty-Free International, 2020). In another scientific study it was found that using animals in testing whether a drug will be safe for use by humans generates little insight that could be rendered useful on humans (Cruelty-Free International, 2020). Precisely, animal tests' low success rate makes it unnecessary for use as test models in developing drugs for use by humans.
Counterargument
However, other schools of thought argue for the reliance on animal testing on the experiments of scientists. These think tanks contend that if animals were not relied on as test models for scientific research, humans would be used instead. These proponents of animal testing rely on the notion that both animals and humans are alike in extraordinary ways and that they share a broad range of diseases, which makes them the best candidates for testing. As a result, new medications are delivered to the department of health and human safety is guaranteed. Besides, new knowledge is created, and new medical therapies are devised.
Refutation of Counterargument
These views of proponents of animal testing are purely driven by curiosity and not the need to provide medication for humans. It is also not true that animals and humans are extraordinarily the same since various aspects of differences exist between them. The difference result from the notion that most of the diseases that humans often suffer from such as cancer, HIV, Parkinson's diseases, among others, do not affect animals (Cruelty-Free International, 2020). Besides, animals commonly used in testing such as monkeys differ from humans in their brain structure thus making animal testing less relevance to humans. In this regard, animal testing done due to the claims of similarities between animals and humans is not justified.
Conclusion
Given that animal testing harms and kills innocent animals, causes diseases and death to humans, and have low success rates, its practice is unnecessary. The rights of animals must be protected, since they cannot speak up for themselves or protest with regard to their situation. Besides, it is not justifiable to sacrifice the life of an animal to save the lives of thousands of people when we would not do the same for the life of a disabled child to save the lives. As a recommendation, other experimental and medical research of developing new drugs and obtaining new knowledge on diseases should be established to protect animals' lives.
References
Cheluvappa, R., Scowen, P., & Eri, R. (2017). Ethics of animal research in human disease remediation, its institutional teaching and alternatives to animal experimentation. Pharmacology research & perspectives , 5 (4), e00332.
Engel Jr, M. (2012). The commonsense case against animal experimentation. The ethics of animal research: Exploring the controversy , 213-36.
International, C. F. (2020). Arguments Against Animal Testing . Retrieved from Cruelty Free International: https://www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/why-we-do-it/arguments-against-animal-testing#:~:text=The%20harmful%20use%20of%20animals,%2C%20Parkinson's%20disease%2C%20or%20schizophrenia.
Nurunnabi, A. S. M., Afroz, R. D., & Alam, S. N. (2012). Animal research in medical science: pros and cons. “ . Health Science” J PMC , 2 (1), 28-33.
Peta. (, 2018). Animal Testing Facts and Alternatives . Retrieved from Animal Are Not Ours: https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/animal-testing-101/
