Introduction
"Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is 'Because the animals are like us. Ask the experimenters why it is morally OK to experiment on animals, and the answer is because the animals are not like us" (R. Magel, 2010). Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction. Animal testing has become an inflammatory discussion nowadays since the point of views varies concerning animal testing. Some people agree with animal testing while others refuse this issue. Knowing that, if animal testing abolished completely, human life is going to be threatened. Since experimenting on animals discovers cures and medicines for several diseases, many human lives can be saved. Although many people dismiss animals experimenting and consider it unethical, animal testing rests on logical contradiction, whether experimenting on animals should be abolished for ethical reasons, or should be applied for its beneficial results on science, humanity, animals themselves and on the environment.
Animal Testing for Scientific Purposes:
Animal Testing for Scientific Purposes:
Animal testing can be deployed for scientific research. For instance, it develops biomedical researchers to ensure the safety of the production of new drugs. Animal experiments allow science to be improved and new drugs to be performed to treat people from numerous diseases such as diabetes, HIV, and cancer. Several experiments tried on animals not only for performing and obtaining new drugs but also for ensuring its safeness and its side effects on human. Kristin Gebbie, a member of the Office of National AIDS Policy, stated that the importance of animal models in biomedical research is indisputable throughout the history (Franco, 2013 ). For example, thalidomide a medicine for pregnant women manufactured and tested on animals in order to make sure of its safety. It would be a gigantic crime if the drug were given directly to the pregnant women since that would have led to physical deformation in the infant. As a result, such test can avoid societies from retardant and abnormal individuals who can burden on it. Therefore, ensuring the safety of the drug is one benefit from animal testing.
Drugs and vaccines are not only tested on animals to set up their safety but also to set up their effectiveness. The purpose is to manufacture drugs that are effective in achieving the goal by putting down the disease. One example is human immunodeficiency virus, which is known by HIV, that does not affect animals but it is a retrovirus that affects humans. The Immune system of chimpanzees has an effective response to HIV (Wikipedia, 2011). However, chimpanzees exposed to SIV can develop HIV in a relatively short time. Thus, tenofovir and AZT, which are a few HIV drugs, have been tested on chimpanzees, and scientists were able to notice how effective the drugs are and the way they work. This can help in finding a possible cure for HIV. In addition, it is unethical to test a vaccine that prohibits HIV infection in healthy body humans in order to see its effectiveness. Knowing that the efficacy of HIV vaccine did not develop until many experiments were done on animals which can restrict its unbelievable side effects like a tumor. Pollution, chemical substances, and toxic gases allow the appearance of new diseases that still strange to scientists such as H5N1. For that reason, several studies were done on animals to recognize the way the disease functions, the symptoms it causes, and the way it can be treated. Franklin Truel of the foundation for biomedical research has stated, “Every major medical advanced of this century has depended on animal research”. For example, H5N1 is a disease that affects humans which is transmitted from animals specifically birds. Recent studies show that after several experiments, scientists can discover well effective vaccines, which protects humans from catching such a harmful disease. Thus, animal testing allows scientists to find cure for the new diseases. Animal Testing Benefits Humans
Animals’ experimentation arises many therapeutic benefits that are crucial to save humans from diseases. British law stated that new medicines of a drug should be tested at least on two different kinds of live mammal (BBC, 2014). Some chemical substances are harmful that cause death to humans, while these have no destructive effects on animals. For example, penicillin, commonly used in our daily lives, is such antibiotic that decreases human’s suffering; also it can be used as an anti-inflammatory drug that was discovered by an experiment on guinea pigs (Greek MD, 2000). In 1922, Insulin took from a dog and revolutionized to treat diabetes people. In the 1970s, vaccines and antibiotics were discovered for leprosy disease (Nurunnabi, Dil Afroz, & Nur Alam, 2013). Thus, testing pharmaceutical products on an animal is not that dangerous as on human, and it can lead to curative benefits.
Animal testing is also advantageous for having well-being and healthy people. Anesthetic is a chemical drug that causes unconsciousness, discovered in the middle of 1800s by a test done on animals. Such a product makes surgeries easier and results more beneficial for patients whose body tissues would not irritate anymore. Another experiment done on cats and dogs established a gem that can treat eye’s disorder, besides the study of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Studies show that there is a possibility to acquire animal organs by a process called xeno-transplantation that benefits humans. Jose Delgado, a researcher, made an experiment on the hypothalamus, the lower part of the brain, by inserting an electrode and sensing it. The experiment showed that the aggression was due to stimulating a specific area of the brain. Such knowledge is only known through an experiment on animals; if such a test is performed on humans, it may lead to their death.
Other Benefits for Animals themselves & Environment:
While humans get benefits from animal experiments, animals themselves get a great advantage from that. Biological researchers on animals lead scientists to know how animal body organs are related and how they function. If an animal faces a problem with its body organ, it is possible to identify the treatment method to cure that organ effectively. According to a study done in 1990, many effective drugs aid animals to have a better health. Furthermore, experiments on animals rise to discover heart worm medication that was considered as the best treatment for dogs, since hundred of them died before discovering it. Another example, experiments enhance the nutrition quality for cats, and that is why in modern societies cats have stronger and healthier bodies. Theories concerning this issue show that cats have longer lives and have great immune deficiency due to animal’s researchers.
SIV is a disease that leads animal’s death and it transfers among them rapidly. Animal testing helps scientists in their work to create a vaccine that limits SIV infection. This process was well done by building an animal lab on 28 January 2006 which known as Oxford Animal Lab. Such results can protect animals from many other diseases as far as animal testing is getting more expansion and development. Theories show that animal testing can improve environmental situations, where many beneficial results can occur within it. An environment has consisted of materials and living organisms that interfere with its prosperous and protection. Animal testing can organize the chain of a specific animal species. For example, endangered species like Panda is known as an important genus for the environment. Through animal testing, those species can be protected and get out from the endangered ones which keep a great balance of the environment. Actually, cloning is one of the greatest scientific achievements that preserve the existence of many species can be considered as one of animal testing. Consequently, such thing maintains the stability of the ecological side.
Is it wrong to Experiment on Animals?
People against animals testing believe that it is unethical. In order to achieve the goals of scientific research, painting and suffering are the symptoms that result from animals experiments which are not taken into consideration as they are found for that purpose. In addition, Experimenters ignores testing on humans (Exner, 2007). Unsuitable conditions lead to pain that causes stress mainly if anesthesia is not used. In addition, animals become poisoned and threatened by diseases due to experimenting. Therefore, it is immorally to experiment on animals. On the contrary, it is immoral to experiment on humans since they impose them to risk. For example, one of the most important experiments done on animals is to see whether a permanent use of drug affects one’s brain or not. Moreover, it is unethical to try experiments on humans since they affect not only people but also their families in a pessimistic way that put them under pressure. Some claim that one can reduce the number of experiments on animals by using alternatives. “Magnetic resonance imaging”, a recent technological scan, can examine patients’ diseases without animal testing and surgical operations. Also, the computer can abolish animal experiments since it can detect the results of drug testing. Though computer examination does not give accurate results, tests should be done on living organ directly. It is unethical to test on humans, so animals are the alternatives. Animals’ body organs are similar to that of humans, and by that, the behavior during the experiment can be monitored and can be detected accurately when foreign substances enter. Vaccines that are beneficial to humans cannot be determined and detected by computer monitoring. In addition, drug testing should be done on animals to notice its consequences not only on cellular atmosphere but also on the whole body. In addition to that, it is impossible to get accurate answers when scientists use the term of “computer model and cell culture test” comparing to organism test.
Conclusion
Animal
testing is a hot argumentative issue nowadays. Concerning this issue people are
separated into two groups: one with and other against. Animal testing aid in
surviving humans lives. Since in this polluted environment several diseases
appeared, and after various experiments on animal, scientists were able to
discover some cures that allow people to endure. Although some people abolish
animal testing since it is immoral and can be altered with other equipments,
animal testing must be applied to benefit the scientific researches, humans,
animals, and environment.
Reference:
Nurunnabi, A. S., Dil Afroz, R.,
& Nur Alam, S. (2013). Ethical Debate on Animal Research. Retrived July,
26, 2015, from http://www.fda.gov/oc/history.
BBC. (2014). Animal experimentation - the facts. Retrieved July, 26, 2015 from Ethics guide:http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/using/facts.shtml
Cornelia, E. (2007). Animal
Experiments in Research. Retrieved July, 26, 2015, from http://www.lemmens.de
Greek MD, R.
(2000). The Discovery and Development of Penicillin. Retrieved from http://www-curedisease.org/pdf/penicillin.pdf.afma
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