Should Animal Testing be Banned in Scotland?
An estimated 376,000 animals were tested on in Scotland last year. Whilst
the UK has outlawed testing animals for cosmetic products, many still
question whether we should be testing on animals at all. On the one hand,
animal testing is essential for scientific developments that benefit us all.
However, despite this, many animal rights groups believe it is cruel to test
on animals. This piece will explore both sides of the issue.
On the one hand, animal testing should be banned in Scotland as it causes
cruelty to animals. Evidence has shown that animals often suffer during
experiments and can be forced to endure painful experiences. Therefore,
from an ethical perspective it seems hard to justify causing animals pains.
Moreover, animals are different to humans and as a result, evidence
gathered from tests is often not useful. Studies have highlighted instances
where results from tests have not been the same when tested on humans.
Hence, if the results are unreliable, then animal testing may not be
worthwhile.
However, conversely, others believe that animal testing is an essential evil.
The majority of scientists argue that animal testing is necessary to cure
disease and to allow for humans to survive. Those that believe human life is
more important than animal life, therefore see it as a necessary evil to allow
us to survive.
Additionally, animals rarely suffer in experiments today. It is often argued
that animals have to endure a lot of pain, but every effort is made to stop
this. Due to this, if the animals are not suffering, then animal testing may
not be as cruel as some suggest.
To conclude, whilst I believe there are many reasonable arguments against
animal testing, I believe it is a necessary evil. Who can honestly say that if
it was there loved one needing a cure for a horrible disease that they would
not value their life over that of a mouse? So long as we do every effort to
ensure animals don’t suffer, then unfortunately, it is a necessary evil for
scientific progress.