Reading 1

The Pros and Cons of Animal Testing

Zoe Reading
Wilde Lake High School
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Animal testing. After reading those words an opinion immediately develops in your brain

revolving around past knowledge of the subject. Most people already have a developed opinion

revolving around animal testing. People can see it as a positive, something that is going to

advance the medical field and go to develop new cures for many different diseases. Others see it

as a negative, something that is harming millions of different animals worldwide and providing

no new benefits towards advancing the medical field. This paper explores both sides of animal

testing, the positives and the negatives. This paper dives into the anatomical differences in both

humans and animals which has led to the many mishaps with developing medicine through

animal testing, the cruel and inhumane methods used, the alternative methods, and animal

testings astonishing accomplishments over the years. Overall this paper strives to expose the

reader to a new side of this issue and to hopefully get the reader to reconsider the opinion that

was first developed when reading the words, animal testing.

Animal testing is not a new phenomenon, it has been around for years. Descriptions of

the dissection of animals have been found in ancient Greek writings from as early as 500 BC.

Physician-scientists such as Aristotle, Herophilus, and Erasistratus performed these experiments

in order to discover the functions of living organisms.Through these early experiments, there

were many new discoveries about how the human body functions. For example, Roman

physician and philosopher Galen (130-200 AD), demonstrated that arteries, which were believed
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by earlier physicians to contain air, actually contained blood. Also, English Physician William

Harvey (1578-1657) discovered that the heart, and not the lungs, circulated blood throughout the

body as a result of his experiments on living animals.

Animal testing was only seen as a positive because people believed that animals could

not feel or think. This all changed in the 19th century with the increased amount of domestic

animals. This was the moment when two opinions develop revolving animal testing, the people

against it and the people for it. This lead to some early advancements in restricting the amount of

animal testing being used such as the Great Britain’s Cruelty to Animals Act of 1876. Today,

animal testing is still prevalent in society, but the fight against it is just as strong. The

development of new regulations and groups such as PETA work to restrict and regulate the many

aspects of animal testing. However, an estimated 26 million animals are still used every year in

the United States for scientific and commercial testing. The animals are used to develop medical

treatments, determine the toxicity of medications, check the safety of products destined for

human use, and other biomedical, commercial, and health care uses.

One of the flaws to animal testing is that drugs that have been tested on animals are not

necessarily safe for human use due to anatomical differences. Many different species of animals

are used for testing in order to determine the safety and effectiveness of many medicines and

chemicals. Some of these animals do have similar anatomical structure to humans, but none of

these animals have the exact same structure. We share approximately 99% of our DNA with

mice. Researchers can use mice to see what effects specific genes can have on human bodies.

They are able to do this by “turning off” specific genes in a mouse and looking at what effects

turning them on and off would have on the body. (“The animal model: Biological”). The amount
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of DNA that we do share with certain species of animals is very high and does go to show that

there are many similarities in the anatomical structure between animals and humans. However,

the differences in anatomical structure is of more concern when trying to translate the results and

effects given by testing medicine on animal into how human bodies may react.

Many researchers have been studying the similarities between mice and humans in order

to see if mice are an accurate enough model to test for human diseases. They found that gene

regulation and other systems important to mammalian biology have many similarities between

mice and humans. However there are some small differences in many DNA variations and gene

expression patterns. For example, the regulatory elements and activity of many genes of the

immune system, metabolic processes, and stress response vary between mice and humans.

(“Comparing the mouse and human genomes.”). Another specific difference between mice and

humans anatomical structure is the pancreas of both mice and humans differ greatly. The human

pancreas consists of the head, the body, and the tail. While the mouse pancreas has 3 lobes that

are less well defined: the duodenal, the gastric, and the splenic lobe which are not present in the

human pancreas. When looking at a microscope it is easy to identify that humans have larger

lobules than the mouse. (Dolenšek, Slak Rupnik, Stožer, (“ Structural similarities and

differences”). These small differences can make a big impact when trying to produce medicine

and chemicals to the public because if there is a difference in how certain parts of the body

functions then there is a potential that there will be a difference in how the body will react.

It is also important to consider that mice are not the only animals that important medicine

is tested on. Animals such as monkeys, birds, rabbits, and guinea pigs are also being used in

these testings. These animals also share a large amount of DNA with humans, but have their own
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anatomical differences with humans that can pose issues when testing. There have been many

instances where a drug or a chemical was tested on animals and the results given were not the

results that occured in humans. This can be dangerous because a drug that is given out could

potentially be harmful for humans without anyone knowing because it wasn't harmful for the

animals that it was tested on. Events like this have occured in the past with the result being long

lasting effects on the humans who took the medicine or was exposed to the chemical.

Thalidomide was a drug released in the early 1960s and was a mild sleeping pill that was

advertised as being safe enough for pregnant women to use. However, thalidomide caused an

estimated 10,000 birth defects most commonly known as phocomelia (the failure of the limbs to

develop). This drug was released to the public because it was tested in animals and did not result

in birth defects and death unless given at very high quantities. (“The Tragedy of Thalidomide,”)

Many people are still affected by the release of thalidomide in the 1960s. This goes to show how

animal testing can not be as reliable because there are anatomical differences that will affect the

outcome of how different medicines and chemicals affect the body. This tragedy occured

because there was a anatomical difference between humans and the animals being tested which

then resulted in thousands of people to be affected.

Another example of animal testing failing to be reliable because of the anatomical

differences between humans and animals is with Vioxx. Vioxx was an arthritis drug that went to

cause 27,000 heart attacks and various cardiac deaths. This drug was released in the first place

because when it was tested on mice, it was deemed effective in reducing arthritis pain. However

in this case the results from the animal testing did not translate to humans and caused many

deaths and injuries. (“Should Animals be used,”). There have been many more examples, with
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the outcomes not being as tragic, of anatomical differences causing difference results in humans

than in animals. This raises the question if animal testing is a reliable source to determine if

medicine and chemicals are safe for human use.

Animal testing involves many cruel and inhumane methods that lead to dangerous health

effects to a variety of animals. “Cruel and inhumane” methods can be defined as any method that

goes to harm the animal when there are other options to limit pain inflicted upon it. One example

of one of these methods is the Draize eye test. The Draize eye test is mainly used by cosmetics

companies who want to test certain cosmetic ingredients. This method involves clipping rabbits

eyelids open, for many days. The technician drops the product in their eyes and the clips prevents

the rabbit from blinking away the product. (“​Should animals be used for scientific,”). This can

cause pain and discomfort to the animal all for the testing of cosmetics. Another example of a

cruel testing method is exemplified while testing the effects of toxoplasmosis on kittens. ​The

kittens are used for research in toxoplasmosis, a parasitic illness that mainly affects unborn

babies and people with weak immune systems. The kittens are fed infected meat in order to test

the parasites eggs. The cats are usually killed after research because they are deemed as unsafe

for adoption. (“Animal testing: US senate bill,” December 20, 2018).

While, there are laws and agencies in place for protecting animals, but there is little

regulation of these laws which allow for cruel animal testing to still occur. The Animal Welfare

Act which excludes some 95 percent of the animals that are commonly tested on, such as rats,

mice, birds, fish, and reptiles. The law however only provides minimal protections for the rest

(“Federal Law and Agencies,”). This is one issue for animals because there are laws in place to

protect them from cruel and inhumane methods, but the most tested on animal, mice, does not
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get these protections. As well as not providing protection, the Animal Welfare Act has obvious

loopholes which allows for ​any procedure or protocol to be allowed as long as the researcher can

state a “scientific need” for using animals in that manner to advance human health. For example,

the AWA requires that researchers provide pain-relieving medication to the tested animals in

order to minimize the pain or distress from the conducted experiment. However, the pain

relieving medication can be withheld if it is deemed “scientifically necessary.” (“Laws and

Regulations.”). These loopholes make it hard for animals to get the protections that are applied in

the laws. Also agencies are very similar to the laws that are set in place currently. Protection

agencies are supposed to protect the animals being used regularly and make sure that cruel

methods don’t occur. One agency that has some of the most issues is the​ United States

Department of Agriculture. This is the federal agency that oversees and inspects laboratories that

experiment on animals and locations who breed and sell animals for use in laboratories. From the

description of the agency, it seems like it would be successful in providing protection, but the

issue is​ there are only 115 USDA inspectors to oversee more than 7,750 licensed facilities. This

makes adequate inspection and regulation of these facilities close to impossible. Also when the

USDA does finds facilities that are not following AWA regulations, they will issue penalties

which are typically very small. This allows for facilities to keep breaking the AWA regulations

because there is no real consequence ​(“Federal Law and Agencies,”).

There are many other alternative methods of testing drugs and chemicals that don't

involve animals which have proven to be just as accurate. Traditional animal testing methods

have been accurate for most of the time, but as discussed previously, these methods have been

shown to not be as accurate because of anatomical differences. These new alternative methods
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are proven to be just as accurate as the traditional methods, but eliminates the use of animals.

These testing options are a better choice because they are less expensive to perform as well as

not causing harm to millions of animals.

One example of a alternative testing method is in-vitro testing. A test performed ​in vitro

(latin: "in the glass") means that it is done outside of a living organism and it usually involves

isolated tissues, organs or cells.You can use ​in vitro​ data to fully or partly fulfil information

requirements that would otherwise need data to be generated with tests on living organisms

(ECHA, In vitro methods). In-vitro testing is also known as ​organs-on-chips​. The chips contain

human cells that are grown to mimic the structure and function of human organs and organ

systems. The chips can be used to replicate human physiology, diseases, and response to drugs.

(“​Alternatives to animal testing.”). This type of testing is starting to be used more as the various

benefits of it are starting to be discovered.

Another method that is becoming more popular as its benefits are being discovered is

computer modeling. ​Computer modeling is a computer that is able to simulate human biology

and developing diseases. Studies have shown that these computer models can predict how the

drug will work in the body and what the reaction will be. Also it is shown that this testing

method can replace testing on animals and standard drug tests. (“​Alternatives to animal

testing.”). By implementing computer modeling in the place of animal testing, scientists are able

to see how the drug would react on a human body. Therefore this can be a more accurate form of

measurement because it is not looking at an animals organ system which can have some

anatomical differences to the human body system. Another positive thing about computer

modeling is ​this approach could also be applied to many more chemicals than animal testing this
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can lead to wider safety assessments. Due to costs and ethical challenges only a small fraction of

the roughly 100,000 chemicals in consumer products have been comprehensively tested. While

with computer modeling, a wider range of chemicals can be safely tested, this would overall

branch out our knowledge about different types of chemicals and their effects on humans.

(Global Biotech Insights, 2018)​.

Along with computer modeling and in-vitro testing there is another method that avoids

animal testing, but it proven to be just as accurate. This method is human-patient simulators. The

human-patient simulators are able to breathe, talk, bleed, and even simulate death. These

simulators can be used to mimic developing diseases and injuries. The simulator is also able to

give appropriate biological responses to the diseases and injuries and can respond to the

medication given. ​(“​Alternatives to animal testing.”). This simulator would change chemical and

medicine testing completely. This testing does not involve animals, but is able to supply

scientists with a direct look into how a chemical, disease, injury, or new medicine will affect the

body. Human-patient simulators are even starting to be used, ​PETA and medical doctors from

Northwestern University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School met with senior

federal government officials and did a demonstration at the MedStar Health Simulation Training

& Education Lab (SiTEL) in Baltimore, MD, about the benefits of replacing animal use in

trauma training with advanced human patient simulators, including a demo of two prototypes,

Caesar and TraumaMan (PETA, Alternatives to Animal Testing).

However it is important to notice that animal testing has been and important factor to

how these alternative methods have been developed. Animal testing has provided us with enough
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knowledge about chemical and medicine reactions that we were able to use that information to

develop new and improved methods.

Despite having many downsides, such as inhumane methods and inaccuracy due to

anatomical differences, animal testing has changed the development of medicine for the better.

Over the years, animal testing has allowed for new discoveries in medicine, chemicals, and

cosmetics that have led us to all the knowledge that we now know about the human body and

toxicity. Without animal testing, the development of antibiotics, vaccines, blood transfusions,

dialysis, organ transplants, chemotherapy, bypass surgery or joint replacement would have taken

a lot longer to be used in the medical field. Everyone has benefitted from animal testing and

research. In fact, practically every drug, treatment, medical device, diagnostic tool or cure used

today was developed with the help of lab animals (“How Animal Testing and Research”). This

means that animal testing has really gone above and beyond to advance the medical field despite

the negative thoughts about it. However animal testing is still doing its job and is currently

working to prevent diseases and develop vaccines. Many diseases that once killed millions of

people every year are now either preventable, treatable or have been eradicated altogether.

Immunizations against polio, diphtheria, mumps, rubella and hepatitis save countless lives and

the survival rates for many major diseases are at an all-time high thanks to the discovery of new

drugs and the design of sophisticated medical devices and surgical procedures. In the coming

years, a universal influenza vaccine may be a reality, as well as a vaccine to end the HIV/AIDS

pandemic. (“How Animal Testing and Research”).

Research with cows helped create the world’s first vaccine, which in turn helped end

smallpox. Studies with monkeys, dogs, and mice led to the polio vaccine. Drugs used to combat
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cancer, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s, hepatitis, and malaria would not have been possible without

research with primates (“How Animal Testing and Research”). One specific example of how

animal testing contributed to a life-saving cures, treatments, or development is Asthma Inhalers.

Inhalers, both reliever and preventer, were developed through research on guinea pigs and frogs.

One in ten children currently receive treatment for asthma. This was an amazing discovery and

would not have been made possible without the use of animal testing. (“Animal Research

Benefits Us and Animals,”). Another example is animal testings work in diabetes, The treatment

of diabetes with insulin has been studied using dogs and rabbits. Insulin research has lead to

helping many animals and people with diabetes. (“Animal Research Benefits Us and Animals,”).

Also the incredible work with animals led scientists to discover organ transplants which has gone

to save millions of lives. Organ transplants were developed through the testing of animals.

Specifically, heart and kidney transplant techniques and vital anti-rejection medication were

developed using experiments on animals. This development has helped the lives of so many

people. In 2009-2010, 3,700 people received major organ transplants (“Animal Research

Benefits Us and Animals,”).

Overall the goal of this paper was to get the reader to see both sides of the issue and

reevaluate what they first think when discussing animal testing. However, after reading the paper

the reader should have identified that animal testing is a complicated issue to develop an opinion

on because of the many different positive and negative aspects. Everyone has benefitted from

animal testing and research, it has gone to provide vaccines, knowledge about the human body,

knowledge about toxicity, and much more. However there is still a negative stigma around it due

to inhumane methods being used and the lack of accuracy. This makes it very difficult to choose
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an opinion that reflects either supporting or opposing animal testing. Nevertheless, the increase

of new knowledge gained about both sides of the dilemma can be used to help spread to the

public that animal testing is not a one sided issue. It is an issue with both pros and cons, with

both downsides and upsides, with both positives and negatives, overall an issue with many sides.
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