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Animal Testing Draaft 3
Animal Testing Draaft 3
UWRT 1104
31 October 2017
Animal Testing
environment will affect a specific type of animal. To predict different safety variables and
effectiveness for medical and cosmetic products, animals have traditionally been involved in the
testing. According to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA, more than one
hundred million different kinds of animals are killed in different laboratories each year for the
sole purpose of testing cosmetic and medical products. Is there not a better way to conduct
research on products and chemicals that does not harm animals or humans? Thanks to new
research, the development of alternative methods is growing. Scientists have developed many
new testing methods that have shown to lead to more effective products and drugs and not
depend on animal testing. These new methods include: in vitro testing, computer models and
When buying a cosmetic product at a store or a drug from the pharmacy, one does not
usually consider the fact that this product might have been tested on animals. Most people do not
know, if this said product was tested on animals, the testing conducted was most likely harmful
to the animals, whether it takes their lives or not. Animal testing can cause the animals physical
pain, and it can cause them psychological distress. PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals, has dones studies that show 50 percent of adults in the United states oppose animal
testing. The other 50 percent believe that it is necessary for medical progression (Experiments on
Animals: Overview). There are alternative methods to animal testing that are developing that
people need to consider because of their benefits. Some of these benefits of alternative methods
are that scientific methods are often more reliable than testing on animals, non-animal testing is
cost efficient, more predictive, practical, and cruelty free products are more environmentally
friendly (Animals in Science / Alternatives). There are three different types of alternative testing,
refinement of the experimental design and methods to reduce pain and distress to animals. It is
important to understand that a test can still use animals and be considered an alternative test
(Animal Testing and Alternatives). Animal free testing means no animals, not alternative testing
with animals.
One type of alternative method to animal testing is in vitro testing, which means test tube
testing. This type of testing uses methods and models based on human cell tissue and cultures.
The properties of drugs can be more easily assessed during these tests. Carcinogenic or
mutagenic properties would be much more easily identified (Pearson). In-vitro testing actually
saves money for companies who use it, sometimes thousands of dollars for each study that is
conducted (Cost Comparisons: Animal Tests Vs. In Vitro* Alternatives). It is used to test new
chemicals and products on human skin or cells of compatible animals; it is toxicology testing.
Scientists take tissue samples from either animals or humans and prepare them for laboratory
study. The main limitation to in in-vitro testing is that it limits the result to a cellular level and
Cruelty Free International, skin allergy tests that have been performed on guinea pigs have
proven to only predict human reactions 72% of the time, where cell-based alternative methods
have show to accurately predict human reactions 90% of the time (Alternatives to Animal
Testing). The results of these tests are a small piece of evidence proving that cell- based
Automobile crash testing, heart studies, and modeling the effects of new medicines are all
already utilizing this type of testing. This is a method that uses virtual metabolism programs,
human organs, and other math based and computer based approaches to study the human body
structure, fractions, and reactions. There are already computer models of the heart,kidneys,
lungs, skin, and digestive and musculoskeletal system that can be used to conduct virtual
Animal Testing). The only limitation to this type of testing is that these simulations usually need
humans are given very low quantities of a drug to test the effects of the drug on a cellular level.
These ultra low dose clinical studies are getting more acceptance from the FDA and
international regulators every year (Microdosing). This method allows humans to be safely
substituted for animals in some drug testing. Microdosing gives humans a high enough dose of a
drug to cause cellular effects, but too low of a dosage to effect the entire body. The only
limitation of this method is that it is considered the earliest phase of the clinical drug trial, and
this is known as phase 0. Animal testing with the full dose of the drug is necessary to determine
Another alternative form of animal testing is microfluidic chip testing. This type of
testing is used to study biological and disease processes, and drug metabolism. Microfluidic
chips contain samples of tissues from different parts of the body that are linked by microchannels
through which a blood substitute flows, mimicking processes and pathways in the body. Test
drugs can be added to these chips to see how human organs and tissues would react. Sensors
built into the chip send back information that can be analyzed by computers (Superior Non-
Animal Methods). Compared to in vitro testing, this method provides more complex information
(Alternatives to Animals). These chips have the ability to simulate several different body organs,
such as kidneys, heart and liver, and observe the experiments results on them. So in essence, this
Imaging studies is another alternative method of animal testing. Image studies is a wide
range of technologies used for seeing inside the body. This includes magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI), functional MRI (FMRI), positron emission tomography ( PET), and single-emission
computed tomography (SPECT). This method is used to observe the effects of drugs in the body,
studying brain function and structure, and studying brain and other neurological disorders. The
limitations of this type of testing is that it cannot reveal all drug effects in the body (Alternatives
to Animals).
Human testing is the final alternative to animal testing. May people are willing to be a
test subject so that they can receive free medications and medical care during their study. Some
people participate for financial reasons, others do it because it is their last hope to treat a disease
that doesnt have a cure. Sometimes patients can get medicines that dont have FDA approval
this way. Post mortem human testing has greatly contributed to Alzheimers research. Also,
post-mortem brain tissue has provided important leads to understanding brain regeneration and
the effects of Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinsons disease (Alternatives to Animal Testing).
All of the alternative methods stated above can and will help to stop the use of animal
testing in labs. The problem is that there are two opposing sides to the animal testing debate. One
side is the group of researchers and developers who will continue using animals as test subjects
due to lack of technology or funding to make the necessary laboratory changes. Then there is the
other side, like the animal protection group PETA, that is against the usage of animals as test
subjects, regardless of any reasons. What needs to happen for these methods to become the new
standard for animal testing is for scientists to support and adhere to the new methods. Also, these
methods will require scientists to become more affiliated with the change. Scientists are currently
used to testing on animals without a problem. If researchers start using these new methods, it
would take more time to test products at first, because they would be required to learn how to
In conclusion, animal testing is used all around the world. It has been going on for
hundreds of years, so it is not likely that this type of testing will come to a complete stop in the
next few years. It will take a long time before this practice is completely obliterated, but with all
of the new methods being developed, the hope is that it will be completely wiped out within the
next decade. It is ethically wrong for a living creature to spend its entire existence in a cage
being subjected to painful or harmful experiments. If researchers utilize all of the aforementioned
alternatives, animal testing will be greatly reduced if not eliminated altogether and companies
Animal Testing and Alternatives. What Are the Alternatives to Animal Testing - Are
They Viable?, www.animalliberationfront.com/Philosophy/Animal%20Testing/Qs-
Alts2Testing.htm.
Reproduction
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3818914.
www.safermedicines.org/page/superior_methods.