Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Animal Testing


Ramzi Chamcham

Professor Dania Adra

English 203

20 October 2015
Against:
Animal testing has been a controversial subject for a long time, many people claim that it has great benefits for humans and should be allowed for the good of the human race and the economy due to the existence of a big number of cosmetics and medical companies. However, others say that it is just cruel and pointless. Personally, I am completely against animal testing because it is unacceptable. Each year  hundreds of millions of animals are killed just for animal testing which is unfair to animals, people care more about making money off of cosmetics than the lives of innocent animals who have the right to be free in the wild, not held captive in a cage waiting to be a test subject to a cruel unfair research experiment which might not even lead to an answer or a result. Some might argue this by saying they are not just tested on just for cosmetics some cures have been discovered from animal testing. To those people I answer that animals rarely share any common diseases and illnesses with humans so animal testing is like a shot in the dark, which most of the time misses and has ugly consequences. Elizabeth Fisher claims:
          Medical scientists use many methods, including computer models, cell cultures, DNA chips and human studies to better understand human and animal bodies, and the diseases which affect them. But the fact remains that currently animal research can still be necessary for progress in medical research. ( Elizabeth Fisher 2013)
              I think if alternative methods exist even though scientists might find animal testing necessary, it should be absolutely banned. She also says:
          So why the increase in numbers? The last decade has seen a large rise in both private and public investment in the life sciences. This investment has resulted in rises in both animal and non-animal methods being used in medical and veterinary development. (Elizabeth Fisher 2013)
              So the lives of more and more animals are being taken because some people have found that they can make a profit by investing in the life sciences which leads to an increase in the number of animals harmed, this is not a business, this should stop immediately!

Agree:
              Animal testing has had positive consequences on humans because it has led to discoveries that have saved many lives, even if some animals are being sacrificed I think a human life is worth much more than an animal’s life. “In the past year animal research has been key to many medical breakthroughs” (Elizabeth Fisher 2013) so it is absolutely necessary for saving human lives even if some animals must be harmed to do so. Fisher says” If we are to address the unmet medical needs of the 21st Century such as cures for dementia and stroke, then it is likely that some animal research will be necessary.” (Elizabeth Fisher 2013) So an increase in animal testing and research is a good thing especially for our future, more and more treatments will be discovered and more lives will be saved thanks to animal research. A mouse and a human have a lot of genes in common which makes mice good test subjects, so most of the time if it works on the mouse it works on us. I find it impossible to completely ban animal testing due to its importance in the medical field. In fact, most surgeries have been practiced on animals before being performed on humans so they have become less dangerous and have been perfected thanks to animal testing. Fisher says in her text that scientists use many other methods to better understand human and animal bodies and the diseases which can affect them but animal research can still be necessary for progress in medical research. Which means that animal research will always be needed whether we like it or not because it is considered the most effective way of finding treatments to certain diseases.

Work cited:

The Huffington Post UK, Elizabeth Fisher, “Why We Should Accept Animal Testing”. July 2015.

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