Animal Testing

                 Animal testing and research is used in many different industries for many different reasons. The main uses of animals for research are education, cosmetics, military/space, medical, and psychology. Animal testing is a very controversial topic and there are many opinions on it. I myself have my own opinion on it but I won't write about that until I have gone over the topic unbiasedly.

                As we learned in class, it is impossible to know how many animals are used in research. There are only 1.4 million mammals that must be reported, this includes: dogs, cats, rabbits, and primates. However, it is estimated that over 14 million species are unreported because scientists do not need to report testing on invertebrates, rodents, or birds. 90% of these are estimated to be rats and mice, these species are not covered under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The Animal Welfare Act is the only federal law in the U.S. to regulate the use of animals used in research, exhibition, transport, and by dealers. There might be separate laws to protect certain species but the AWA is the minimum acceptable standard of regulation. It doesn't regulate how the animals are used but rather how they are obtained and maintained at the facility.

                So this act covers how animals are maintained in the facility and that is something we went over in class. We covered that the AWA requires the reporting on non-rodents animals. The only requirement is that animal must live in clean, warm cages. Wire bottomed cages are allowed, primates can live in groups or alone, enrichment is only required for primates, rodents live in small plastic cages, and socialization is not required. A part of the AWA is that the research facilities have to abide legal restrictions on imposing pain during the research. Pain is determined by the researchers and approved, if approved alleviation for the pain does not need to be given. Half on the animals reported to the U.S. Department of Agriculture were involved in experiments that caused "pain or distress," but there are no numbers on the unreported species. 

                The other part of the AWA that we learned about are the 3R's of research, which stand for reduction, refinement, and replacement. The 3R's are implied in the AWA and scientists must prove there are no alternatives and that the number of animals used/suffering will be kept to a minimum. Reduction aims to reduce the amount of animals used in experiments or to use the same animals for more than one experiment if possible. Refinement is to modify the experiments to reduce the pain and distress caused to the animals. Replacement is using non-animal alternatives whenever it is possible and to always work towards finding non-animal alternatives.

                Types of animal testing include eye irritancy and acute toxicity, short term poisoning. Rabbits are mostly used for eye irritancy tests and are observed 24 hours for three weeks, they are killed at the end. New data shows that these tests are inaccurate because rabbits have different eye structures and produce less tears. Acute toxicity is used to test the toxicity of a product or chemicals through exposure by mouth, skin, or inhalation. The lethal dose 50 test is most common to determine the lethal dose that causes death to half of the animals. The fixed dose method identifies the dosage that shows signs of toxicity and the animals are killed at the end. Oral and dermal toxicity as well as inhalation studies are other tests in which animals are observed for periods of time to see what effects the products/chemicals have on them. Injection and immersion studies are also common.

                So now for animal uses that we learned about in class. For education the main use of animals is for dissection. Animals are used as live models although there are many computer models available as alternatives to the students. According to the American Anti-Vivisection Society there are 18 states that have laws in which students can refuse to participate in direction and must be given an alternative. Even students living in states without this law are usually given an alternative. Animal testing for cosmetics is not required and alternatives are encouraged. It is used to testify the safety of the products for consumers and it is the most controversial type of testing. "Cruelty free" is not s legal term and products or chemicals could still be tested on animals. Medical testing tests drugs, equipment, and procedures and a lot of advancements have been made with animal testing. The Food and Drug Administration requires animal testing for drugs but many still fail in human trials and the market. Spaces testing was first to see the effects of flight and space on the body and now it is used to test long term effects on travel. Military testing is for testing weapons, radiation, burn/blast tests, and for medical training. Some animals are intentionally hurt for medical practice. Psychological tests include inducing stress, studying deprivation, effect of drugs, and electric shock to study punishment and learning.

                Now there are a lot of different opinions on animal testing. Some people believe yes it's the only way to get information. Others are completely against it and there's a lot of controversy when it comes to animal testing. Are animals like us or are they not? If they're like us then the outcomes will be similar and we'll know the effects on humans. If they're not like us then we can't know the outcome on humans. So if they're not like us it's ethical but can we be sure of the results being valid? If they are like us then the results are similar but is it ethical?

                I personally am against animal testing and wish that more effort was put into finding alternatives. Yes, I can see that great advancements have been made but there have also been so many failures. I feel greatly conflicted on this issue because there are a lot of important medical advances that could possibly be made from animal research but I do not see the need for dissection, cosmetic testing, military/space testing or physiological testing. According to Humane Society International, data shows that animal tests fail to predict human outcome in 50-99.7 percent of cases. They also mention how 9 out of ten drugs that pass animal tests fail the human clinical tests. The FDA also only approves 8% of the drugs that pass animal testing. Outcomes can never be truly predicted and with no new advancements in the medical field it makes me wonder why we're even still using animal testing? There are no major advancements medically, most chemicals used in makeup have been tested previously, there are computer models for dissection, and physiological tests have outcomes that usually common sense. As far as space tests and military tests I just personally believe there are more important a tests if anything to worry about than these areas.

                The biggest reason I am against animal testing is just ethical though. I am happy that fewer animals are being used but we never truly know the numbers and not all animals are covered. Just because not all animals are cute and cuddly doesn't mean they don't suffer. Even those covered do not have to be relieved of their pain. I do not believe this is fair or ethical. We express dominion over these animals because we have more power but who’s to say they're not suffering and can take it? We cannot be the judges of this, no one can, not even researchers or medical professionals because everyone feels pain and suffering to different extents.

                This is how I feel about animal testing and I know that it is a controversial stance. I am in no way choosing animals over humans but I simply do not see it as ethical. Animal testing will probably never be truly phased out but I would at least like to see better laws in place that protect all animals and relieve them of their pain. I would say more money needs to go towards alternatives as well since taxpayer money goes towards some of these animal experiments anyways. I would just like to see a better outcome for the animals being used because I know they won't stop using them.