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Animal testing has become common in the fields of medicine and biomedical research to test new medicinal drugs and cosmetic items to determine whether a product is safe to use before it is possibly used by humans. But is this the best course of action?
‘’Ninety-five percent of all new drugs that are shown to be safe and effective in animal tests fail in human trials’’ The National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided this data directly. This figure raises the question of whether testing on animals is truly worthwhile when the results aren't all that positive for humans?
Animals tested on include guinea pigs, mice, frogs, rabbits, and monkeys. These animals were not brought to this planet to be used in human experiments. The animals used in the research suffer greatly and have a lower quality of life as a result. It is morally indefensible since it results in such immense suffering and the loss of so many animal lives.
The animal is made to inhale harmful chemicals and has burns to its eyes, fur, and skin while undergoing drug testing. They suffer psychological distress, they are pulled away from their families, and are imprisoned in cages during this procedure. Occasionally, the medicine may not be well tolerated by the animal and, as a result, be deemed unsafe for human usage. On the other hand, occasionally, the experiment may identify promising drugs as dangerous or ineffective.
According to PETA (the largest animal rights organisation in the world) ‘’Between 2015 and 2019, more than 300,000 animals covered under the AWA were subjected to painful experiments without pain relief’’. It is not appropriate to permit this. It is like having a kidney operation on a human without administering a general anaesthesia. Wouldn't that be excruciating pain? These animals frequently experience vomiting, paralysis, and seizures. The question is not, “Can they reason?” nor, “Can they talk?” but rather, “Can they suffer?”. If the animal does not die during the experiment or testing, it is usually ensured that they are killed afterwards or utilised again for further experiments. Then, how can people who engage in this be considered moral?
Research resources are also sometimes wasted and human concerns arise from the imprecise conclusions obtained from animal testing.
Perhaps we need to take in to consideration the fact animals are also subjective to pain and are no different to us. Maybe more people should speak up for the unspeakable. Perhaps we need to substitute animal experimentation with something else.
With the development of technology, there are many more alternatives available, such as using computer models or cell cultures for experimentation. Would you consent to testing being done on your pet rabbit or guinea pig? The majority of people would say no for their own animals to be given such treatment so why is it acceptable to test on the other animals just because they are not your pets?
Animal testing should be eliminated because it violates animal rights and it is not necessary for future research. It’s simply immoral, selfish and cruel for one to do such a thing. Thousands of people use cosmetic items such as makeup everyday without even realising it has been tested on animals. So just pause and think do you really love your makeup?