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Shreejan Bajracharya
Miguel Marrero
English 1301-81020
December 7, 2018
Animals and Science
Everyday billions of mice, rats, rabbits, cats, dogs, and other animals are caged in
specialized and powerful laboratories and suffer different types experimentation. They die in ache
or wait for dead and free. Animal experimentation is a process that has been using for numerous
years, scientists use it for developing remedial treatments, determining the toxicity of medications,
and check the safety of products for us. While the nation’s economy gets better, more people fear
about animal rights. We cannot remove all the advantage we get from animal experimentation;
there are many cures and treatments to a multiplicity of illnesses and diseases have been researched
based on animal experimentation. Famous science researcher MacLennan (1990) stated, “There is
no doubt that the best test species for humans are humans. It is not possible to infer animal data
straight to humans because they are different species and variation in anatomy, physiology and
biochemistry”. In this case, I think animal experimentation is pitiless and inhumane, we should ban
animal experimentation. Furthermore, in my opinion, scientists will use other alternative methods
accessible to take the place of animal experimenting very soon.
We live in 21st century and we have progressed so much in technology and development
which is very remarkable. Humans are getting more smart and powerful with science day by day,
but in the race with science and technology we forget something that “we do not own the world”
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yes, we cover more ground as a population but, animals have equal rights as they share this world
with us. We together make an ecosystem and being in top of the food chain does not mean we
should abuse animals just because they cannot express their pain. Many animals are sacrificed in
the name of medical research, and others would simply bear the brunt of human curiosity and be
experimented with various superficial and medical products. Animal experimentation has come to
an extent where it has become so common people don’t give it a second thought before taking a
life, which is very depressing.
The most basic argument of animal rights defenders is that humans and animals are
different genetically and thus it is of no use to use animals in experiments to see the effects of
some substances on human. According to dosomething.org “92% of experimental drugs that are
safe and effective in animals fail in human clinical trials because they are too dangerous or don’t
work” (Facts About Animal Testing). It’s a true claim that it will make no good use of animals
testing, because they are very different to be compared to people. Some of them even state that it
is better to use human’s straight as they think that the results of experiments on animals cannot
be applicable and consistent as long as the same examination has not been done on human also.
However, these people cannot predict the catastrophic results of such an experimentation. Many
people are likely to die until vigorous results are obtained.
According to Susan Crowell “Without animal research (mostly rats and mice), we
wouldn’t have cures or treatments for other diseases like cystic fibrosis, malaria or muscular
dystrophy. Researchers are also stimulating cartilage regeneration in animals’ joints, meaning
they’ve successfully rebuilt a complete shoulder joint using the patient’s own cells” (Crowell).
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World has come very forward and sacrificing an animal for our sake is not a right thing to do.
Few scientists have come up with alternatives of testing in human cells and tissues by Vitro
Method, and furthermore there is silico models which are computer-based modeling techniques
which is not only cheap it takes less time and also most accurate since they are not developed by
experimentation on other species. If doctors built a complete shoulder made of patients own cell,
then somehow cell and DNA won’t match with the animal and taking animals limb off and tying
the same procedure is not ethical. Of course, if the medical field have developed so much,
invention of new gadget though which animal testing can be stopped isn’t impossible thing to do.
“In 1996 however, a National science Foundation survey found that over two thirds of
Americans sampled lacked fundamental knowledge of basic science” (Fano). More than half of
the people who are abusing and killing animals in name of experiments are not even certified
doctors or scientists, they are people who are not even certified, they experiment on animals
hoping if something extraordinary happens it can bring them fame and money, which in my
opinion is shame in name of science.
There are millions of examples which can be given against animal abuse, one of the most
heart wrenching one is the ““Lethal Dose 50” (LD50). This test forces animals to ingest toxic
and lethal substances to the endpoint of where 50% of the animals in the study die—and those
that do not are later killed.” (Bjӧrn). There are many other non-animal ways of testing which is
far more effective and accurate, such as synthetic skin, different organs make of jellies which
completely cat as true human tissue. In 2007, the U.S. National Research Council (NRC)
released a report titled “Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy,” which
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took care of the boundaries of animal-based toxicology experiments and called for a shift toward
non-animal, human-based experimenting approaches. The report was issued in response to a
request from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asking for the NRC to conduct a
wide-ranging evaluation of toxicity experimentation methods. In their report, the NRC briefed
that “advances in toxicogenomic, bioinformatics, systems biology, epigenetics, and
computational toxicology could transform a system based on whole-animal testing to one
founded primarily on in vitro methods that evaluate changes in biologic processes using cells,
cell lines, or cellular components, preferable of human origin” (Animals in Science).
As science continues to advance and modifies our world to whole new thing than we
know, and technology continues to get better and bigger is a fact and something that will go on
until human kind exists. If we go with the flow of technology and science while we try to destroy
our animal habitat and abuse them various species will come to an end. There are many
alternatives which can be used to experiment on other than animals. There are many states like
CA, NJ, NY who have passed a legislation to mandate federally approved non-animal testing.
Animal testing has always been inhumane and pitiless, and we should totally boycott it. Now the
change has been made by at least few states it’s our turn to bring in laws like that which would
bring good to all living beings and we can live in a happy ecosystem.
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Work Cited
“Animals in Science / Alternatives.” Harm and Suffering, 2018, www.neavs.org/alternatives/intesting.
Bjorn, Ekwall. “animaltesting101 | Alternatives to Animal Testing.” Animal Testing 101,
Crowell, Susan. “Animal Research Saves Lives of Both Humans and Animals.” Farm and Dairy,
6 May 2011,
www.farmanddairy.com/columns/animal-research-saves-lives-of-both-humans-andanimals/24737.html.
“ Facts About Animal Testing.” DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social
Change,www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-animal-testing.
Fano, Alix. Lethal Laws: Animal Testing, Human Health, and Environmental Policy. Zed Books, 1997.
MacLennan. “Animals in Science / Alternatives.” Harm and Suffering,
www.neavs.org/alternatives/in-testing.
National Research Council. (2007). Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and a
Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.