Khang Minh Nguyen

Professor Hoffman

English 1301

16 April 2014

Animal Testing

The last few years have seen many advancements in biomedical research. An old method,

animal testing remains employed to evaluate the effects of medicines before going into

production. Some people believe animal testing remains harmless and necessary for product

safety. However, others strongly assert it tortures and even kills animals. People should never

use animals for scientific and commercial testing because it tortures animals, it stands as morally

wrong, it breeds serial killers, it remains an unreliable method, and it wastes time and money.

People should never use animals for scientific and commercial testing because it tortures

animals. Some common testing animals include primates, dogs, rabbits and rats. Caged inside

cold laboratories or barren cages across the country, they experience extreme loneliness and

great pain, longing to use their minds and roam freely. Instead of living in their natural habitats,

these animals, which usually got hit badly, screamed at and stuffed inside small cages, wait for

experimentation in fear. This shocks them. Peter Singer, a professor of Bioethics at Princeton

University, states, testing animals "develop neurotic behaviors, for example: rocking impatiently,

biting and pulling their skin and fur" (34). Even worse, they cower or shudder whenever

someone goes near their cages. This fear causes their blood pressure to shoot up drastically and

some even die in this process. Sorrowfully, “their life of solitude and pain finally leads to death

when they are used in experimentation” (Singer 34). Therefore, people should never use animals

for scientific and commercial testing because it tortures animals.

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In addition, people should never use animals for scientific and commercial testing

because it remains morally wrong. Scientists conduct dissections on defenseless animals without

their consent. In any case, no animal would consent to the cruel procedures normally conducted

on them. Moreover, not only many dissected animals got lost from their homes, but they also

land in the hands of merciless people who use them for experiments. Disregarding the sanctity of

life, many people still perform animal testing. All animals have the right to live. Adam

Hepworth, a professor at Stanford University, states, " Animals should be afforded the same

level of respectful treatment as humans; in short, we should not have the right to kill animals,

force them into our service, or otherwise treat them merely as means to further our own goals."

(3). Hence, people should never use animals for scientific and commercial testing because it

stands as morally wrong.

Furthermore, people should never use animals for scientific and commercial testing

because it breeds serial killers. Nowadays, students have to dissect animals in most science

classes. Although many teachers think it helps their students understand lessons, animal

experiments at school actuall leads to desensitization among students and consequently

encourages them to engage in harming animals. Alarmingly, some of them get fascinated when

they see the inside organs of dissected animals. This causes them to experience the same feeling

towards humans. Many serial killers, such as Jeffery Dahmer, admitted that he "attributed his

fascination with murder and mutilation to classroom dissections" ("People with Compassion

Dissection"). Stephanie Watson, an author with more than ten years of experience as a freelance

health writer and editor, states, "When turtles’ heads are drilled and smashed with hammers,

rabbits’ hearts exposed and manipulated with electricity, it causes insensitivity as the students

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have to perform these experiments for the sake of their grades" (25). Thus, people should never

use animals for scientific and commercial testing because it breeds serial killers.

Also, people should never use animals for scientific and commercial testing because it

remains unreliable. Scientifically, the human anatomy remains different from the animal

anatomy. Using animals to test for human medications can sometimes backfire because of

biological differences. Humans would not respond the same way to drugs the same way as caged

animals. . Moreover, each species varies from others in terms of physiological reactions to

medication. A website about animal testing states, "Although this methodology has become the

norm in research labs around the world, a closer look at the data makes it clear that species who

share close evolutionary relationships or anatomical similarities do not necessarily undergo the

same biochemical mechanisms or physiological responses. In fact, it can be dangerous to apply

animal-derived data to humans." ("The Failure of the Animal Model"). Therefore, people should

never use animals for scientific and commercial testing because it remains unreliable.

Further, people should never use animals for scientific and commercial testing because it

wastes time and money. People kill thousands of animals every year for testing new products.

Nevertheless, most tested products do not advance scientific studies or offer solutions to medical

problems. Many pharmaceutical companies attempt to hedge their liability by conducting animal

experiments. Moreover, taxpayers pay billions of dollars annually. Spending money on animal

experimentation costs the United States economy greatly. Nancy Day, who holds a B.A. in

Communications from the University of Maryland and an Executive M.B.A. from Loyola

College, states, "Animal tests are not free of charge. For a single test, a person pays between

$10,000 and $75,000 dollars" (37). Thus, people should never use animals for scientific and

commercial testing because it wastes time and money.

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People should never use animals for scientific and commercial testing because it abuses

animals, it stands as unethical, it breeds serial killers, it remains an undependable method, and it

wastes time and money. Thousands of innocent animals suffer from agony in small cages.

Moreover, people ignore the sanctity of life to perform experiments on them. Not only

conducting dissections on animals provokes desensitization among students, but it also

encourages them to hurt more animals and even people. Further, animal testing results remains

unpredictable. Additionally, it costs a great deal of money every year. For a better future when

animals and humans can live together in harmony, scientists must stop conducting animal

testing.

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Works Cited

Day, Nancy. Animal Experimentation: Cruelty or Science? (Issues in Focus). 2nd ed. New York:

Enslow Publishers, 2000. Print.

Hepworth, Adam. "Animal Research: The Ethics of Animal Experimentation." Huntington's

Outreach Project for Education, at Stanford. N.p., 26 Nov. 2008. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.

"People with Compassion Dissection." Animalrightsinfo. N.p., 14 Sept. 20012. Web. 12 Apr

2014.

Singer, Peter. Animal Liberation. New York: Ecco Press, 2001. Print.

"The Failure of the Animal Model." Advancing Science without Harming Animals. N.p., 24 Oct.

2005. Web. 12 Apr 2014.

Watson, Stephanie. Animal Testing: Issues and Ethics (Science and Society). New York: Rosen

Pub Group, 2009. Print.