Using animals to test the safety of products for research has been an intense topic for decades now.
Animal testing can happen in many forms, which include injections, surgery, inhalation of toxic gases, genetic manipulation and even force feeding.
In most cases, the purpose for animal testing is to improve the health and welfare of both humans and animals.
Whether it is right or not to use animals for testing is arguable and therefore reviewing the benefits and pitfalls is significant and necessary.
On one hand, the global good is obvious.
Animal testing has the potential to change human lives forever, if it’s a cure to cancer or even immunisation to life threatening virus.
Without animal testing the 230 million+ prescriptions for antibiotics in 2023 would not have been possible.
Furthermore, animal testing allows scientists to check the right dosage, the long-term effects, and how the substance interacts in a living body.
Thus, harmful consequences are assessed and as a result largely removed before being introduced to humans.
On the other hand, many will argue animal testing is violating rights and welfare of animals who have no way to protest.
It causes pain and suffering to the experimental animals. Often other means of testing product toxicity are available, such as in-vitro tests where chemical and biological aspects can be assessed.
Also, it has been recently shown that around 90% of animal testing is ineffective.
Animals do not naturally acquire many of the human diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, HIV, Parkinson's, or schizophrenia.
In laboratories, scientists work to make animals develop these diseases for study.
But it is far from reflecting the whole complexity of human conditions, influenced by genetics, lifestyle, mental health, and personal experiences.
In conclusion, although animal testing can be responsible for discovering life-changing products, people have no right to justify making their own lives better, whilst the torture and killing of thousands of animals for experiments or product testing are happening
as we speak .
Animals should be treated with respect.
After all, humans are animals.
The focus needs to be on developing experimental models which as much as possible mimic living body reactions. Until then animal testing will deemed as a necessary evil.
