Animal Medical Testing: A Necessary evil?
Is animal medical testing a truly ethical acceptable practice? In my mind, no. Experimentation on living beings can never being ethical and most people would hopefully agree. Animal medical testing is one of the most controversial practices in the issue of animals in captivity because of this. Does the advantages of animal medical testing truly outweigh the costs?
According to this poll, most people agree that animal research is necessary for the progress in human health. However, animal rights groups such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have long opposed the use of animals in medical testing, arguing that testing on animals could not compare to human physiology. How can a pig's intestines be compared to a human's?
I'll be the first to admit that animal medical testing has some pretty heavy costs for its benefits. Over the past hundred years, less ethical scientists have performed numerous harmful experiments on monkeys, chimpanzees, dogs, horses, chickens, and other various animals. Multiple videos and pictures of animal abuse while being experimented on have surfaced. Animal medical testing is definitely not as ethical as some people would have you believe.
Animal medical research is slowly shifting in a positive path. The United States government recently announced that they were retiring 400 our of the 450 chimpanzees used for medical testing. In addition, the industry is slowly changing from experimenting on monkeys and dogs and other animals that are popular with the public. Now, most animal medical testing is mostly limited to genetically modified rats and mice. New technology has allowed scientists to also work with embryos, which would allow the retirement of animals in medical research.
Bryan's Notes: Personally, I think that animal medical testing is okay, partly because it helps saves countless human lives. We have cured diseases, manufactured vaccines, and helped stop viruses with animal experimentation. When dealing with animals, there will always be controversy. But if the animals are helping to save human lives, isn't it worth it? I love animals, but if I had to save a hundred chimpanzees or my own mother, who do you think I should pick?
