Argumentative Essay: The Ethics Of Animal Testing

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Today we have made many advances in the world. A scientific evolution has firmly been set, yet in doing so we have failed to set moral and ethical boundaries along the journey. The knowledge we have acquired is remarkable, but with it comes responsibility to use it wisely and ethically. Every day we torture and kill thousands of animals for our own heartless wants. Animal Testing has been a highly debated and ongoing topic for many years. The dangers of using animals to test products being made for human uses is a high risk. Approximately 225 million animals are used for testing every year. Billions have been killed in the process. ("Questions and Answers About Biomedical Research.”) How can this be allowed? Isn’t it cruel to use animals to …show more content…
The drugs Oraflex, Selacryn, Zomax, Suprol and Meritol produced such adverse side effects in humans, including death, that they were removed from the market, though animal experimentation had predicted them all to be safe. One of the few studies that examined the differences in species reactions found only a 5-25% connection between harmful effects in people and the results of animal experiments (MFAT). Also these animals are in an unnatural environment, where they will be under stress. Therefore, they won't react to the drugs in the same way compared to their potential reaction in a natural environment. This argument further weakens the validity of animal experimentation. ("Using Animals for Testing: Pros Versus Cons.") Most tests that look promising fail in human clinical trials. Nine out of ten drugs will fail. Animal studies do not reliably predict human outcomes. Sometimes drugs that are tested don’t seem promising and can still end up being a leading drug used by doctors. For example, Lipitor did not seem promising in animal testing trials but after being requested by a scientist to be tested on a small group of healthy volunteer humans it was proven and has become a well-used drug by doctors. However, the opposite has been recorded as well. Nicotine in dogs is a staggering 9.2mg/kg, in pigeons 75mg/kg, and in rats, 53mg/kg (PETA Facts).So, when animals did not show signs of cancer from smoking, there were no warning labels on cigarette packaging. (“Frequently Asked Questions | About NEAVS.”) Many people died during this period of time, due to the fact that animals cannot help properly judge human reactions. Reactions in animals also vary on gender, breeds, age, weight ranges and ethnic background even within the same breed, making it impractical and expensive to use animals in product testing. ("Stop Testing Household Products on Animals -

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