Animal Testing: Is It Right?

By Jeanette

More than one hundred million animals die each year from testing in the United States, and the pain they go through before they die is immeasurable. Animals are taken from their habitats and put in cages. The only time that they get taken out is when they do testing for humans, and then they get thrown back in their cages, like they are nothing. These animals aren’t allowed to interact with other animals, they just sit in their cages alone. They are being forced to test drugs and medicine to see the side effects and to see if certain drugs are healthy for humans. Scientists put them through this pain, and if they die, they just move on to the next animal. Drug testing is not right, and we need to put a stop to it.

If you think about it, animals are just like humans. They have lives. They have a purpose in this world, and if there were no animals in the world today, it would be very different. Imagine if you were put in a cage and only taken out when you were going to be harmed? How would you feel? You would be extremely scared and have no idea what is going on. These animals are probably wondering why they aren’t at their habitat and living their normal lives. They should not have to test medicine to help other people live whatsoever. This is so wrong. These animals don’t know where they are, what’s going on, and they are dying from testing drugs for humans. They should never even be tested in the first place!

Animals have emotions, and feelings. They get depressed very quickly when they are not able to interact with other animals and communicate. Cooped up in cages, all alone, and they are only let out when they are meant to be tortured by testing drugs. They are held down so they cannot move while a needle is being injected in their body, and they are screaming in fear. If they do survive the drug testing, then they just have to go back in their cages and be miserable. Their eyes are burning, and their skin is itching from all of the drugs that have been injected in their body. Their hair is being shaved off because the scientists are rubbing different products on their skin to see if there is a reaction. Chemicals are being poured into the animals’ eyes to see the effect. All of these things are done for what? The benefit of humans? Animals are dying, and no one is changing anything about it. Scientists are abusing these animals without thinking twice about it. These animals are going through so much pain, and it is unbearable for them. This is seriously unhealthy for these animals and their emotions.

Also, some test results could be faulty as well, considering that human and animals are different. This is why scientists test multiple animals before deciding if the drug is safe or not. Scientists could test a guinea pig and the results could turn out bad, but then they could test a dog and the results would be good. These results are inconclusive, and the scientists would have to run even more tests on different animals to figure out if it is a safe drug. This harms even more animals!

There are also several more reasonable options for testing drugs that most people are not aware of. An example of this is called micro dosing, which is when one or two individuals would get a small dose of a new experimental drug. Because the dose is so small, the drug cannot do very much harm to the human. Scientists are able to tell from this experiment how the body absorbs the drug and reacts to it. Another example of a way of testing drugs is Human-On-A-Chip. Human-On-A-Chip is basically a recreation of the human organs digitally. It is a 3D model that includes 10 different mini organs. These organs would be linked together and would function as an entire system, which would allow the system to copy the activities and biological processes of the human body. This tool would be able to reduce animal testing, and hopefully eventually replace it. Another technological advancement that is used to help prevent animal testing is computer simulation. These simulators allow scientists to try new ideas and different experimental conditions. This simulation method is an alternative to actual experiments, which can help reduce animal testing. With all of the technology that we have nowadays, there should be no animal testing at all. Scientists should be inventing new things every day to prevent animal testing.

In my opinion, I believe that if humans want to make sure that a drug is safe, they should just test it themselves. Scientists should have a back-up plan just in case something goes wrong when they are testing the drugs on the humans. Humans could volunteer themselves for this cause, and it would also help people who need these certain drugs. I believe that this method is the most accurate, as these humans are testing the drugs for themselves. If humans want to create new drugs and use those drugs to help them, they should test them on themselves. This would be the most effective method, and they would not have to harm animals as much.

Animals should not be used for drug testing. Scientists are taking advantage of these animals since they cannot speak with them and giving them drugs to make sure that they are safe for humans. There are graphic pictures online of these animals and how they are in so much pain, you can see it in their eyes. Scientists do not even think twice about testing drugs on animals, and this has become the norm. This should not be the norm. These animals should not have to go through excruciating pain for humans to be happy with new medicine products. Animal testing should be banned forever. We need to make a change and now.

Works Cited

LingelGrant, Grant. “Animal Testing Is Cruel and Doesn't Work: Here's Why.” Animal Testing Is Cruel and Doesn't Work: Here's Why, 3 Feb. 2020, sentientmedia.org/animal-testing/.

Lo, Chris. “Of Mice and Men: Debating Animal Research in Drug Development.” Pharmaceutical Technology, 31 Jan. 2020, www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/featureof-mice-and-men-debating-animal-research-in-drug-development-4938505/.

Commissioner, Office of the. “Why Are Animals Used for Testing Medical Products?” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-basics/why-are-animals-used-testing-medical-products.

“Alternatives to Animal Research.” National Anti-Vivisection Society, www.navs.org/what-we-do/keep-you-informed/science-corner/alternatives/alternatives-to-animal-research/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI64PN5dO96AIVA4eGCh1UjAyxEAAYASAAEgKhxPD_BwE#.Xn_NNxNKhQJ.