Debate Paper Essay

The use of animals in scientific experimentation should be continued to be fought against because it is morally wrong in so many ways; there are alternatives to animal experimentation. The use of animals in experimentation has been a debate and a controversy for quite some time now. There are many who strong opinions and views on this very sensitive issue; I even stand strongly against using animals for any kind of experimentation. This always leads us to one question that has been been asked; Is it right? There are quiet a lot of alternatives to animal experimentation, and they can be found on quite a few websites. Just like there are alternatives there are also pros and cons when it comes to animal experimentation, an even though some people stand strongly against this cruel act there is no way that they can avoid some of the pros that come along with it; nor can those for this cruel act can ignore the cons that come along with it. Did you know that there is an estimated twenty-six million animals that are used every year for scientific and commercial testing? There are scientists who defend animal researching saying that this testing has contributed greatly to the advancement of cures for human diseases. In my own opinion animal testing is wrong; not only for the unnecessary pain to a living creature, but because it is also wrong for the environment. Some scientists believe an claim that testing on animals is the key to finding cures for human diseases. They try to justify the pain they inflict on them by injecting them with viral an deadly diseases for which there is no known cure for. I can understand that the only way to actually understand how a disease works is to record all the effects as they happen, but that sounds way to cruel even for an animal that may indeed have a shorter life-span than humans. According to the Humane Society International, animals that are being used in experiments are subjected to many of the following; force feeding, force inhalation, food and water deprivation, prolonged periods of physical restraint, infliction of burns and many other wounds so scientists can study the healing process, infliction of pain to study its effects and remedies, and so muc h more [Should Animals Be Used for Scientific or Commercial Testing]. Experts some that animals are appropriate research subjects because they are similar to humans beings in many ways. There are two animal that I have seen listed on quite a few sites about animal testing and they are chimpanzees and mice. A Chimpanzee shares 99% of their DNA with humans, while mice are 98% genetically similar to humans; this kind of information shocked me because I can understand the whole chimpanzee thing but a mice is something I don’t completely understand. Though because of animals and humans being so biologically similar they are susceptible to many of the same condition and illnesses; this also include heart disease, cancer, and diabetes [Should Animals Be Used for Scientific or Commercial Testing]. Experts like to test on animals not only because it is a must in some cases or a better testing ground, but it because they are used to them and it is hard for them to leave the well beaten path an take the very less traveled road towards stem cell research or even human skin research. These alternatives would provide the same results and would not implicate any damage to animals anymore; which is something that a lot of us are fighting against in the long run. Human skin testing is supposed to soon replace all animal testing in the cosmetic field, and some private companies have already resorted to this type of experimentation. While I was doing some extra researching on alternatives I have come across an article titled â€Å"Alternatives to Animal Testing†. Upon reading this article I have come across a section that was talking about how the Harvard’s Wyss Institute had created organs-on-chips. The organs-on-chips contain human cells that are grown in a state of the art system to mimic the structure and function of the human organs and organ systems; these chips can be used in testing instead of animals. Organs-on-chips have been shown to be able to replicate human physiology, diseases, and drug responses more accurately than crude animal experiments do. Thankfully there has been some companies who have already started using these chips in place of animals and one of these companies is HuRel Corporation [Alternatives to Anim al Testing]. The animal welfare control claims that it is inappropriate to test on animal, especially when the testing is for futile cosmetic products, because they assert that animal’s body composition is different to a human body, therefore, a medical product that might help cure the disease on an animal, doesn’t necessarily work on another animals, and especially on humans. So you may be asking yourself why do they subject these animals to pain, diseases and vivisection, when the results might not be of any help what so  ever to humans? Experts claim that they are aware of the many subtle differences between animals and humans, but animals continue to be the closest match they can think of; to be honest this is something that I can agree on after I read about how close chimpanzees are to having the same DNA as us humans. Both animal welfare control and sceientists have been debating endlessly on this topic; with scientists listing many cures that were identified thanks to animal research and the animal rights that continue to claim that it is unnecessary torture, even more so when experts conduct the same experiments several times with the same results. Adding to this debate between the two there are another set of scientists who are fighting alongside the animal rights. These scientists are the ones who work and record the changes in the environment. Apparently most animals that are used for research purposes are already loaded with toxic materials injected into them during the trail study. These animals are than put to sleep using a lethal injection of carbon dioxide and then left to decay in open areas. The carcasses of these are then releasing the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which subsequently contributes to global warming, with all the consequences of it. Animal rights claim that it is impossible to actually determine how many animals are tortured every year because not all the labs release the actual number of animals required, and a lot of animals are acquired illegally in these labs. They also believe that animals such as rabbits, mice and guinea pigs are hardly counted in their totals, and that their torture starts way before the testing even begins. This is because some of these animals are kept in very small plastic boxes an have hardly any room for movements. When you think about how some of these animals are kept before testing even begins, you have to ask yourself if they are even healthy enough to even test on to begin with. Even the animal rights believe that these animals should not be good for testing because not only are they not in good shape, but because they also don’t lead a normal life which renders them not aceeptable for testing. There are several cosmetic tests that are commonly used on mice, rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs that include a few of the following; skin and eye irritation tests where chemicals are rubbed on shaved skin or dripped into the eyes without any pain relief [11 Facts About  Animal Testing]. Thankfully in the year 2000, President Clinton had signed a law that provided for a chimp haven for all the chimps that were lucky enough to survive animal testing; this was built in Shreveport, Louisiana. According to PETA, more than 100 million animals are burned, crippled, and tortured every year, just in the United States, and the problem that PETA is trying to bring to light, is that no testing, no matter how cruel or painful, is illegal. There are no laws to protect these animals, and even when alternatives to animal testing are available, the law doesn’t require for scientists to use it. The most disturbing fact, still according to PETA, is that a staggering number of 92% of drugs that work on animals, do not work on human. When you know about these kind of facts you really have to ask yourself is all this animal testing is even worth all these scientists time. Surely they can be doing something better with their time an knowledge, but to people who know these facts are probably wondering if maybe these scientists just enjoy torturing these poor defenseless animals; again this is my own opinon so I don’t mean to offend anyone. In 2003 the European Union has banned all animal testing for cosmetic purposes to start in 2009, and a ban on any products tested on animals as of January 2013. The European Union also claimed that testing performed on animals is completely inaccurate; aside from the fact that it is inhumane. If the consumers don’t want to stop and think about the tortue animals are put through then they should think of the reactions that some cosemtics could have on humans if they are not tested properly. Most likely corporations are only testing on animals and not humans to avoid all the liabilities and expensive lawsuits just to protect the company’s name; this is something that could be possible because if you do a testing on a human an you end up killing them, then you are held responsible and could be open up to being sued by the living relatives of that person. As an individual I believe I can make a difference in animal testing by refusing to purchase cosemtics that have been tested on animals; which is something that I have been doing. Every time I buy a product to use on myself or my daughter I always make sure that it has never been tested on animals. Grant you a single person can not make a big difference or make the  animal testing stop, but when that one person becomes more than just one their voice get louder. Yes the changes might not happen in my lifetime, but just maybe they might change when our children are older an they have their own children. As long as we keep fighting for what we believe in one day all this cruel animal testing will be nothing but just a bad memory that has finally become a thing of the past. For years we have dealt with several studies and experiments on animals, and we need to stand up as a whole an put a stop to this painful and grotesque thing this is happening to animals. From everything that I have told you throughout this entire paper you can now see that there is proof of this happening an that is is harmful to animals. Sadly the only way to stop it is to be aware that it does actually exist and, fight back against it because what would you do if it was one of your animals that was being tested on? Refernces â€Å"About Cosmetics Animal Testing† (www.hsi.org/issues/becrueltyfree/facts/about_cosmetics_animal_testing.html) â€Å"Alternatives to Animal Testing† (http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/alternatives-animal-testing/) â€Å"Animal and Product Testing† (www.navs.org/cruelty-free/animals-and-product-testing#.UxODBvldWT8) â€Å"Facts about Animal Testing† (www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-animl-testing) â€Å"Should Animals Be Used for Scientific or Commercial Testing† (http://animal-testing.procon.org/)