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For decades, mankind has used animals to progress efficiently in scientific research. Animal testing is important for medical science and other beneficial experiments. Many citizens criticize scientists for testing on animals for unnecessary means other than medical research. Many of today's current vaccines and disease treatments would have been delayed without the use of animals. People across the globe have been saved through organ transplants by persistent research on animals.
Many material products and medical accomplishments people take for granted wouldn't have been possible without animal testing. Learning the anatomy of an animal for educational purposes can create a better learning experience. Many schools of the United States today require science courses to have animal dissections to create a better understanding of basic anatomy. School children in science classes have dissected a frog or worm to see how the body structure is similar to humans. In the medical field, student nurses and doctors learn from dissecting animals first before moving on to human cadavers. Kristen Mcdonald, of The Daily Utah Chronicle comments, "we could just do research on dead bodies" (2).
Even though that's an alternative, there is a limited amount of cadavers for students to study on, so the usual alternative would be animals that are mass-produced in farms. The testing of cosmetics and other hygiene products on animals makes the product safer for human use. Many of the top brands like Cover Girl, Gillette, Maybelline, L'Oreal Paris, and Right Guard have used animals to test the reaction of the chemicals in the product, before the final product was released to be used by consumers. The effects of the chemicals where tested on animal skin to see if any infections or rashes occur of a bad product rather than on delicate human skin. Most primates and swine have very similar epidermal texture, which provides accurate results.
The animals are not harmed intentionally, but sometimes unavoidable. Human suffering is unacceptable when an animal can takes its place and still come up with accurate results. Animals are an essential part for the research and development of vaccines and treatments of human diseases. For most of all laboratory testing, about one-third of one percent of animals used are primates. In an AMP advertisement states: Most of the important medical discoveries such as therapies to prevent vision loss due to congenital eye defects, test the efficiency of synthetic peptides for newborns with respiratory distress syndrome, discovering the treatment hydroxyurea for sickle cell anemia, understanding the effects of HIV to the immune system, and be able to understand the physiological stress that a person with the disease arteriosclerosis wouldn't have been possible without the use of primates (AMP 1).
With these medical marvels, all animals, not just primates are needed to progress in medical science. With animal testing being more commonly done, thousands of animals are harmed for scientific research and useless materialistic products. Even though testing is being done, the alternatives aren't as accurate as actual live test subjects. Alternatives such as autopsies are not a reliable enough source of information when trying to look for treatments and vaccines, as a living subject would provide. Even living tissue, cell, or organ cultures are not a sufficient test subject.
Instead, the use of a fully healthy monkey could be more advantageous, since the scientists can observe the results as it happens and the animal's reaction. Also, Computer simulated results are only theoretical and have to be done in real test subjects to ensure accuracy. Animals will remain the primary source of data to study medicine. People will always question the morality over the advantages of animal testing. Most of the over the counter medicines had to be tested on lab rats to see how the animal would physiologically react to the treatments before sold to the public.
Ointments for cuts and burns had to be tested on rabbits shaved skin to see if the wound would heal properly. These results wouldn't be as accurate if were done with tissue cultures. The main purpose of animal testing is to discover news ways to explore the body. Animals provide new doorways of discovery for healthy foods, disease prevention, and physical hygiene maintenance. To be against animal testing makes it difficult to be consistent.
As a result, a follower of this belief would have to deny any form of treatment, medicine, physical maintenance, and animal developed products because it was used on animals. The well being of a human is too important. Testing on an ill person would cause more harm than good. In addition, Jane Goodall previously stated in a Newsweek article, " many people would find it hard to sympathize with rats, but cats and dogs are part of our lives" (2). It's more of a choice of morality than sympathy towards animals. Even though animals are also part of this world, a person's well being is more important than an animals in the end.
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Research essay sample on Animal Testing Test Subjects
