Vanessa Mezines
Mr. Jennings
Hon English 3
October 15, 2013
Animal Testing
Think of those poor animals being trapped in cases waiting for their turn to be poked and
prodded by these so called human beings. The make-up you are putting on right now; think of
all the animals that had to suffer for you. Animals should not be used for animal testing because
it is harmful to them. They can be killed. Also they are being tortured by toxic fumes and
household items. Hopefully explaining the horrors of some of the test used on animals and talk
about business trying to save them will open the eyes of people that don’t care.
Animals can be harmed by this testing of cosmetics. Every year, thousands of new
cosmetic, personal care and household products are introduced into the marketplace. Almost all
of them have been animal-tested at various stages of their development. Long before they appear
on the shelves of your local supermarket, these products have gone through a long and complex
testing process that leaves millions of animals mutilated, burned, poisoned and gassed in
unnecessary tests. The Draize tests for eye and skin irritancy are equally horrifying. In the Draize
test for eye irritancy, solutions of products are applied directly into the eyes of conscious rabbits.
During the test period, which usually lasts at least seven days, the rabbits may suffer extreme
pain while being restrained, and blindness often occurs. At the end of the test period, all the
animals are killed in order to determine the internal effects of the toxic substances. The Draize
test for skin irritancy consists of immobilizing an animal while test substances are applied to
shaved and abraded skin. Toxic products that have been tested on animals such as permanent
wave solutions, oven cleaners, soaps and detergents are regularly introduced into the
marketplace. That's because no amount of animal testing can change the fact that many of these
products are harmful if ingested or used in a way not intended by the manufacturer. Animal
testing merely determines the level of toxicity. Despite the fact that they have been animaltested, these products are no less deadly if a person eats or drinks them accidentally. Using
animals in cosmetics research was banned in the UK in 1998 and will be illegal across the EU by
2009. Last night, a spokesperson for L'Oreal, the world's biggest cosmetics manufacturer, said:
"We have invested considerable time and effort for over two decades in developing and
validating alternative safety testing methods. As a result, we voluntarily stopped animal testing
on our entire range of cosmetics products in 1989."
The LD-50 test, a group of animals is forced to eat, breath, or consume different amounts
of a substance and suffer severe pain in the process. The test is complete when 50% of the test
animals die. The surviving 50% are killed, autopsied and analyzed to determine which organs
and systems were affected and why they didn't die during the test. More than 100 million animals
every year suffer and die in cruel chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics tests as well as in biology
lessons, medical training exercises, and curiosity-driven medical experiments at universities.
Exact numbers aren't available because mice, rats, birds, and cold-blooded animals that make up
more than 95 percent of animals used in experiments are not covered by even the minimal
protections of the Animal Welfare Act. This is sad because this act should be there to help them
not make it worse.
To test cosmetics, household cleaners, and other consumer products, hundreds of
thousands of animals are poisoned, blinded, and killed every year. Mice and rats are forced to
inhale toxic fumes, dogs are force-fed pesticides, and rabbits have harsh chemicals rubbed onto
their skin and eyes. Many of these tests are not even required by law, and they often produce
inaccurate or misleading results. Even if a product harms animals, it can still be given to
consumers. Cruel and deadly toxicity tests are also conducted as part of testing programs that are
often funded by U.S. taxpayers' money. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and
Drug Administration, the National Toxicology Program, and the Department of Agriculture are
just a few of the government agencies that subject animals to painful and crude tests.
In laboratories all across America, millions of animals are used for the testing of cosmetic
products, even though the FDA does not require it and the rest of the world has pretty much
banned the practice. According to statistics from the American Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), more than half of the 1.4 million animals counted by the USDA
feel pain from the experiments performed by cosmetic companies. What’s worse is that none of
those tests are necessary, according to one expert.
People say that they would rather have animals to be tested on than humans. Which
makes sense, because they would rather an animal die than a human. Taking human rights away
is illegal to do.
Previously said before animals are being taking and not being able to speak up about it
which is awful and wrong. With all the experiment being tested on them is harmful to them and
can kill them.
TYPE OF TEST
ANIMALS USED
WHAT THE
PURPOSE
ANIMALS
ENDURE
Skin
sensitization
32 guinea pigs
or 16 mice
Skin irritation/
corrosion
1-3 rabbits
Eye irritation/
corrosion
1-3 rabbits
Acute oral
toxicity
7 rats
OF TEST
The test substance
is applied to the
surface of the skin
or injected under
the skin of a guinea Tests for
pig, or applied to
allergic
the ear of a mouse. reaction on
Her skin may show
skin.
signs of redness,
ulcers, scaling,
inflammation, and
itchiness.
The test substance Tests for
is applied to the skin irritation
shaved skin of a
(reversible
rabbit. His skin may skin damage)
show signs of
and skin
redness, rash,
corrosion
lesions, scaling, (severe and
inflammation,
irreversible
and/or other signs
skin
of damage.
damage).
Tests for
The test substance
eye irritation
is applied to a
(reversible
rabbit’s eye(s). His
eye damage)
eye(s) may show
and eye
signs of redness,
corrosion
bleeding, ulcers,
(severe and
blindness, and/or
irreversible
other signs of
eye
damage
damage).
The test substance
is forced down a
rat’s throat using a
feeding tube. She
may experience
diarrhea,
convulsions,
bleeding from the
mouth, seizures,
paralysis, and/or
death.
Determines
the amount
of a
substance
that causes
half of the
exposed
animals to
die within 14
days of
exposure
when the
substance is
swallowed.
Acute dermal
toxicity
20 rats, rabbits
or guinea pigs
Acute inhalation
toxicity
20 rats
Repeat dose (28
day) and
subchronic (90
day) toxicity
Carcinogenicity
or combined
carcinogenicity/
chronic toxicity
40 rats (28 day)
or 80 rats (90 day)
400 mice or rats
Determines
the amount
of a
The test substance substance
is applied to the that causes
shaved skin of the half of the
rat, guinea pig, or
exposed
rabbit and covered animals to
with a patch to die within 14
keep her from
days of
licking or otherwise exposure
removing the
when the
substance.
substance is
applied to the
skin for 24
hours.
A rat is placed into
a tube and forced
to inhale the test
substance. She
may experience
bleeding of the
nose, convulsions,
paralysis, seizures,
and/or death.
Determines
the amount
of a
substance
that causes
half of the
exposed
animals to
die within 14
days of
exposure
when the
substance is
inhaled.
A rat is force-fed a
substance, is
forced to breathe in
a substance, or has
a substance
applied to their skin
daily for 28 or 90
days. At the end of
the exposure
period he is killed
and his organs are
examined.
Tests for
changes in
the cells or
organs
caused by
repeat
exposure.
A mouse is
exposed to a
substance either by
being fed the
substance through
their food or water,
being force-fed the
substance, having
Tests for
cancer and
other longterm effects
of exposure.
Toxicokinetics
4-12 rats
Reproductive/
developmental
screen
675 rats
it rubbed on their
skin, or being
forced to inhale the
substance. After
two years of daily
exposure, she is
killed so her tissues
can be examined
for signs of cancer
(or other signs of
toxicity).
A rat is exposed
to a substance
either by being fed
the substance
through their food
or water, being
force-fed the
substance, having
it rubbed on their
skin, or being
Measures
forced to inhale the
the
substance. He may absorption,
be exposed once distribution,
or multiple times
and
depending on the metabolism
substance. Blood is
of a
drawn at daily
substance
intervals to
throughout
determine the peak the tissues
concentration of and organs
substance in the
following
blood. He is then
exposure.
killed at a specific
time-point; different
animals are killed
at different times to
obtain a record of
how the substance
moves through
their body over
time.
Male and female
adult rats are
Tests for
exposed to the test effects on
substance, usually fertility, ability
by force-feeding, to reproduce,
for two to four
and birth
weeks and then
defects.
mated. The
Reproductive
toxicity in two
generations
2,600 rats
pregnant mother is
then exposed daily
throughout
pregnancy and for
four days after her
pups are born.
Four days after
birth, she and her
pups are killed and
their tissues
examined.
Male and female
adult rats are
exposed, usually
by force-feeding,
for at least two
weeks and then
mated. The
pregnant mothers
are then exposed
daily throughout
pregnancy and
breast-feeding and
are then killed.
After weaning, the
pups are force-fed
throughout their
lifetimes,
Tests for
sometimes
effects on
experiencing
fertility, ability
symptoms of
to reproduce,
chronic poisoning
and birth
such as weight loss
defects.
or convulsions.
Pups that survive
until puberty are
then mated, and
force-feeding
continues through
the second
generation's
pregnancy and
breast feeding. At
the time of weaning
of the second
generation,
mothers and pups
are all killed and
their tissues
examined.
Developmental
toxicity
Genotoxicity/
mutagenicity*
A pregnant female
is exposed, usually
by force-feeding,
starting at the
initiation of
pregnancy (through
implantation) and
contiuing
throughout the
pregnancy. She is
Tests for
480 rabbits (100 adult females and 480 then killed on the birth defects.
day before she is
pups) or 1,300 rats (100 adult females
expected to give
and 1,200 pups)
birth (on average,
22 days for rats or
31 days for
rabbits). Her pups
are extracted and
evaluated for signs
of developmental
abnormalities.
12-500 mice
or rats
There are several
different tests for
genetic alterations
that use mice or
rats. In a common
test, a mouse or rat
Tests for the
is force-fed the
beginning
substance on a
stages of
daily basis for at
cancer.
least 14 days.
Samples of his
bone marrow
and/or blood are
taken to look for
genetic changes.
Work Sited
Cosmetics and Household-Product Animal Testing." PETA.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/cosmetic-household-products-animaltesting.aspx>.
"Cosmetics and Household-Product Animal Testing." PETA.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/cosmetic-household-products-animaltesting.aspx>.
"Ending China's Requirement for Animal Testing of Cosmetics (Op-Ed)." LiveScience.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24
Oct. 2013. <http://www.livescience.com/40382-ending-china-requirement-for-animal-testing-ofcosmetics.html>.
"Types of Animal Testing." -The American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS). N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.aavs.org/site/c.bkLTKfOSLhK6E/b.6457299/k.82D0/Types_of_Animal_Testing.htm#.UmnEwTK9K
K0>.
Qs (Frequently Asked Questions)." Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct.
2013. <http://altweb.jhsph.edu/resources/faqs.html>.