For many years, there has been a large amount of debate about animal research. It has become a massive worldwide problem when the subject matter of animal research is introduced. It remains a controversial issue because it is hard to decide what rights animals have, which is why the debate is still occurring. A clear solution to this debate is for the United State government to reevaluate the Animal Welfare Act that was passed in 1966, that protects animals from research.
According to Mark Matfield, the origin of the public and political debate about animal research throughout the world occurred at the Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association that was held in Norwich in 1874. By looking closely, it can be determined that the debate …show more content…
For instance, the polio vaccine, which was tested on chimpanzees since they share 98% to 99% of their DNA with humans, reduced the global situation of the disease from 350,000 cases in 1988 to 27 cases in 2016 ("Potential use of new poliomyelitis vaccines”). There are some who suggest using the cells of animals instead of the animal itself; however, it is hardly possible, since blood pressure nor blindness can be studied in cells. Moreover, supporters note that people kill more animals for consumption than scientist do to conduct research. As reported by Strachan Donnelley, “more than 5 billion animals are killed each year in food production,” yet scientists only use around 26 million animals for research. This is why supporters believe it is not true that animal research is responsible for reducing the number of animals on the planet, that is currently …show more content…
One major argument is that animal research is barbaric and painful for the animals. In accord, the USDA reported in 2016 that “71,370 animals” suffered pain during research while not receiving anesthesia for relief, and “820,812 animals” experienced all types of pain for research purposes. Animals in this report refer to the animals covered by the Animal Welfare Act as well as domestic pets and farm animals. Another argument is that animal research is useless. In fact, in the 1950s the sleeping pill Thalidomide, which caused about 10,000 babies to be born with severe deformities, was researched on animals prior to its commercial availability (“Thalidomide”). Due to this event, people truly began to question the validity of animal research. Moreover, opponents also say that animal research is a waste of money. As reported by PETA, around $60 million of government funds is spent on animal research that, despite exceeding many years, has failed to produce useful results (“Tell Congress”). For this reason, more and more people are becoming opponents of animal research since government funds usually come from taxpayers’
According to Mark Matfield, the origin of the public and political debate about animal research throughout the world occurred at the Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association that was held in Norwich in 1874. By looking closely, it can be determined that the debate …show more content…
For instance, the polio vaccine, which was tested on chimpanzees since they share 98% to 99% of their DNA with humans, reduced the global situation of the disease from 350,000 cases in 1988 to 27 cases in 2016 ("Potential use of new poliomyelitis vaccines”). There are some who suggest using the cells of animals instead of the animal itself; however, it is hardly possible, since blood pressure nor blindness can be studied in cells. Moreover, supporters note that people kill more animals for consumption than scientist do to conduct research. As reported by Strachan Donnelley, “more than 5 billion animals are killed each year in food production,” yet scientists only use around 26 million animals for research. This is why supporters believe it is not true that animal research is responsible for reducing the number of animals on the planet, that is currently …show more content…
One major argument is that animal research is barbaric and painful for the animals. In accord, the USDA reported in 2016 that “71,370 animals” suffered pain during research while not receiving anesthesia for relief, and “820,812 animals” experienced all types of pain for research purposes. Animals in this report refer to the animals covered by the Animal Welfare Act as well as domestic pets and farm animals. Another argument is that animal research is useless. In fact, in the 1950s the sleeping pill Thalidomide, which caused about 10,000 babies to be born with severe deformities, was researched on animals prior to its commercial availability (“Thalidomide”). Due to this event, people truly began to question the validity of animal research. Moreover, opponents also say that animal research is a waste of money. As reported by PETA, around $60 million of government funds is spent on animal research that, despite exceeding many years, has failed to produce useful results (“Tell Congress”). For this reason, more and more people are becoming opponents of animal research since government funds usually come from taxpayers’