Mans Best Friend...In a Laboratory
By: George Azar
Introduction
Have you ever heard the terms or phrases "guinea pig", "lab rats", or "test monkey?' Well did you ever think these terms were used for a reason? Approximately 17 to 22 million animals are used in research and testing each year. Animals are being used worldwide as "test subjects" or better know as the terms above. The majority of animal experiments don't even contribute to the improvement of human health, in fact the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal rights organization, argues that animal experimentation does not advance human health because of the important differences between animals and human. PETA contends that animals used in experiments are inadequately protected at all by a law. Also PETA concludes that new models for advancing medicine need to be developed that do not depend upon animal experimentation. Furthermore, Animal experimentation should be eliminated because it is inhumane and sinful.
Concession
Lots of people ask the rhetorical question "Who would you rather see living a rat or a little girl?" Well animal experimentation isn't just all rats and mice they also test on endangered species such as the chimpanzee .
Concession
People say that not all experiments done on animals involve some type of "surgery." Well each year 100 million animals, including mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish and birds are killed in the U.S. laboratories for chemical, drug, food, and cosmetic testing.(Coster)
Rebuttal
On the other hand, most people don't usually stop and think about how much animal testing changes society. Animals are usually killed after they are tested on and we killed them, we killed living, breathing organisms.
First, animal testing should be eliminated because of how inhumane it is. Animal are used in different types of research for different types of reasons. "I have a great interest in the advancement of medical science to improve the health of humans and other living beings, but i also have a great interest in the protection of animals, and I can tell you that it has not been easy or pleasant to reconcile the priorities of these two communities when it comes to this issue."(Wiebers) The AWA (Animal Welfare Act) is an organization trying to stop animal experimentation, but 75 to 90 percent of the animals used in experiments aren't even protected by the AWA! The reason animals are used in experiments are because their body and nervous structures are very similar, but The United States Drug Administration put every animal used in testing in three categories, animals who take drugs and have pain, animals who have pain and don't take drugs, and animals who don't take drugs and are not in pain. As you can see two out of three categories for classifying animals who have been experimented on have pain, human or animal, pain is undesirable.
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Notice how they talk about the number of animals dying in laboratories are increasing!
The failure of animal experiments – an animated educational film
Secondly, Animal experimentation should be invalid because of how sinful it is. Approximately their are 2.2 billion Christians, 350 million Buddhists, and 13.9 million people in the world. According to the Bible, Torah, and the Buddhists Religion guide book, the God/Buddha said that they created man in their own image, and animals to serve them (as companions, not to be tested on.) (Coster) When Scientists who are christian, Buddhist, and Jewish test on animals they go against the teaching of their beliefs. After these people "pass" these factors will matter to what ever they believe will happen after death. Therefore sometimes people must follow religion, other than their job or occupation.
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Take a look at how different drugs affects the same species!
rats on drugs
We Must Act Now!
In conclusion, animal experiments should be eliminated because it is against religion and painful and inhumane. If, humans continue to experiment on animals it will "bite them in the bottom" later. We must hurry and find more alternate ways for experiments instead of testing on fellow organisms. These animals don't deserve to suffer if we cause problems that we use them for in experiments. The world will be a much better and a little less sinful place.