Controversy: The Ethics Of Animal Experimentation

As society transitions from a mindset of industrialization to an environmentally based mentality, more ethical issues come to light. It is estimated that 50 to 100 million animals annually are used for scientific research. With the growing trend of vegetarian and vegan diets, controversy arises regarding whether it is acceptable to cause suffering and death to animals for human benefits. Particularly in the cases of research and experimentation, the use of animals raises concern about how the government should intervene, if at all. One possible ethical position is the ‘on balance justification’ view, where it is argued that animal research is acceptable if the benefits are greater than the costs and if regulations are implemented to reduce animal harm. Several theories …show more content…
These practices would be drastically hindered without the use of animals. Researchers or vets in training are able to learn a great deal through dissection and can use their skills to benefit humans or animals in the future. Animals are used to test for harmful effects in the chemicals of consumer goods . If animal experimentation were banned, companies would have to either reject new chemicals or deliver untested products to the consumers. To reject new compounds and products would be to hinder the advancement of society. It is also absurd to test chemicals on humans rather than animals. Animal experimentation plays a significant role in both basic and applied research. Basic research aims to obtain scientific knowledge while applied research is used to develop vaccines or methods of curing disease. It may be argued that scientists rarely know how successful the outcomes of animal research are. However, mistakes and different trials are not pointless as they can eventually lead to substantial knowledge. Animal experimentally must be allowed with its vital applications in education, testing, and