ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION

TEST OR TORTURE?
 W~AT ~S AN~MAl
EXPERIMENTATiON1

Animal experimentation is, basically, the testing of new

medicines and techniques on non-human animals, for the
purpose of research, as they are physiologically similar
to humans.

It has helped science progress to a great extent, but

cause animals extreme pain and suffering, and many a
times - death - and so, there has been a prolonged heated
debate on whether it is ethical or not.

0
 DO AN~MAlS ff!JAVtE
R~Gtf6TS AGA~NST
C~lEM~CArL TEST~NG1
Well ••• not exactly against chemical
testing, but against mistreatment during
the process.

Animals are protected by an act called the

Animal Welfare Act (AWA) which is a federal law
that regulates the treatment of animals in research and
exhibition. However, this law does not protect all
animals per se; rats, mice, fish and birds are not
protected by the AWA.

In fact, 95 percent of animals used in experiments are

not protected by the Animal Welfare Act. The Animal
Welfare Act should be modified so that it protects all of
the animals used for scientific research!
 ~S AN~ MAl TtEST~MG
EVtEN GOOD?

Human Beings are animals too, and

Just like we have our rights, they too
have their basic rights!
So, treating them as mere objects of
experimentation and exploiting
them is simply violating their basic
rights!

Testing on animals is quite unnescessary as viable

alternatives are available.
Technology has progressed so much, so why are we
still using poor animals for our experiments?
 V~A~ltE AlTtERNAT~VfES TO
AN~MAlS fOR TfEST~NG
In "Against Animal Testing" , a pamphlet
published by The Body Shop, a well-known
cosmetics and bath-product company based in
London, the development of products that use
U- natural ingredients, like Bananas and Basil
nut oil as well as others with a long history
of safe human usage is advocated instead of
testing on animals.

Another alternative to animal testing is

collecting human cells and studying the
effects of medications and products on
those cells in a petri dish. This method
would remove the need for the animals
used to test products and can even be
more accurate. This method of testing is
not only good for humans, but animals too.
~S AN~MAl TfEST~NG lEVfEN ~AD7
Some diseases such as
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) involve very
'J
complex physiological process ./ ID
that can be only studied in a I ----

~
whole living animal, so until
there is a cell that can be '11- ,Q
1111
studied individually and can
exhibit human like responses,
animals are necessary.

Statistics have shown that, far

fewer animals are used for
scientific research than are
killed for humans to eat. So, if
animal killing for consumption,
which is far more, is not being 0 0

stopped, then why should the

latter be stopped when it is
proving so crucial to mankind?
ANIMALS IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH HAS LONG BEEN
THE SUBJECT OF HEATED DEBATE

ON THE ONE HAND IT IS CONSIDERED MORALLY

WRONG TO USE ANIMALS IN THIS WAY SOLELY FOR
HUMAN BENEFIT. ON THE OTHER HAND , REMOVING
ANIMALS COMPLETELY FROM THE LAB WOULD
IMPEDE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HEALTH AND
DISEASE, AND CONSEQUENTLY AFFECT THE
DEVELOPMENT OF NEW AND VITAL TREATMENTS.

AL THOUGH SOMETIMES THESE STUDIES DO REDUCE

THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THESE ANIMALS,
THOROUGH REGULATIONS ARE IN PLACE TO ENSURE
THAT THEY ARE CARRIED OUT IN A HUMANE WAY.
 TO HELP MINIMISE THE HARM ANIMALS MAY
EXPERIENCE WHILE BEING STUDIED IN THE
LABORATORY, RESEARCHERS ARE REQUIRED TO
FOLLOW A SET OF PRINCIPLES, THE 'THREE RS'.

THESE ARE:

REPLACE : REPLACING, WHERE POSSIBLE,

EXPERIMENTS USING ANIMALS WITH ALTERNATIVE
TECHNIQUES SUCH AS CELL CULTURE, COMPUTER
MODELLING OR HUMAN VOLUNTEERS INSTEAD OF
ANIMALS
REDUCE : REDUCING THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS
USED, BY IMPROVING EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES
AND SHARING INFORMATION WITH OTHER
RESEARCHERS SO THAT THE SAME EXPERIMENTS
AREN'T BEING DONE BY MANY PEOPLE
REFINE : REFINING THE WAY THE ANIMALS ARE
CARED FOR TO HELP MINIMISE ANY STRESS OR
PAIN, BY USING LESS INVASIVE TECHNIQUES WHERE
POSSIBLE AND IMPROVING MEDICAL CARE AND
LIVING CONDITIONS.
 1
' WfE PROM~SfE TO TR~AT THE

Stanford researchers are obligated to ensure the

well-being of animals in their care, in strict
adherence to the highest standards, and in
accordance with federal and state laws,
regulatory guidelines, and humane principles.

Stanford are dedicated to refining, reducing, and

replacing animals in research whenever possible,
and to using alternative methods (cell and tissue
cultures, computer simulations, etc.) instead of or
before animal studies are ever conducted.
 R[EfERlENCtES
• https://www.oneworldeducation.org/ourstudents-
writingJanimal-testing-is-animal-cruelty/
• https://med.stanford.edu/animalresearch/why-
animal-research.html
• https://www.lonestar.edu/stopanimaltesting.htm
• https://scholar.google.com/scholar?
hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=animal+experimenting&
btnG=#d=gs_qabs&u= 0/o23p%3D·TkBWl6dg2kJ
• https://www.yourgenome.orgJdebates/should-
animals-be-used-in-research

WRITER

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