Should Animals Be Used For Research (Essay Samples)


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This has been a centuries-old never-ending debate between animal rights activists and biomedical research experts with valid arguments from both sides. Animal activists are mainly of the view that animals have the same rights as humans and testing medical products that are still in the developmental phase is an animal rights violation. On the other hand, medical research experts believe that human life is far more important than animal life and it is not wise to test a vaccine or new medicine on humans as it can take a precious human life. Philosophers also stand with the animals and are of the opinion that testing new medicines on animals is animal cruelty. In this argumentative essay, we will present arguments in favor of using animals for research purposes to convince you that there is no better alternative than animal testing.

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Should Animals Be Used For Research? 900 Word Argumentative Essay Sample

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Medical researchers believe that even in this present age, it’s inevitable to use animals as test subjects for testing different medications before using them on a human body. On the other hand, most philosophers and animal rights activists believe that using animals for medical testing is animal cruelty which should be a punishable crime. It is undeniable that animals have played an indispensable role in almost all medical research testing for the last two centuries. People who debate against animal testing say that there are alternatives to using animals as poor test subjects and we all should stop animal testing as soon as we can. In this argumentative essay, we will present arguments to justify why animals should be used for research and testing.

Any other alternatives that animal activists provide for testing are not closely related to humans by far. Chimpanzees and monkeys are considered the most closely related to human biology,  biomedical and behavioral research has also proved it. Chimpanzees like humans are vertebrates, mammals, and share the same class as primates according to the 7 kingdom classification. Any new medicine that is tested on monkeys will most probably have the same results on humans. Activists on the other hand argue that fishes and microorganisms should be used for testing medicines. Testing medicine on microorganisms and fishes will never have the same outcomes as testing new medicine on animals like chimpanzees. Scientists can also do a physical examination of chimpanzees, however, doing a physical examination of fishes or microorganisms will never yield the same results.

Animals should be used for testing purposes because unlike microorganisms scientists can visually observe the progress after disease. Scientists can even cure that problem using vaccines and other prevention measures. During the cure, medical experts can also observe how the disease/problem affected them and note down the symptoms of that disease. Another thing to be noted here is that animals don’t have the same rights as human beings. In my opinion, human life is more important than the life of an animal. People also use animal skin and meat for survival so why not test medical products on them to better observe if those medicines provide any cure or not.

People who believe in animal rights regarding animal research should first seek equal law rights for both humans and animals. The animal world doesn’t practice moral rights, the rule for animals is Natural Selection and Survival of the Fittest. Humans should not dig deep into the morality of actions as animals have no moral standards. A hungry wild lion would always attack a human and kill him/her without a second thought. To say that pigs and rats are more important than human lives is nothing but fantasies of the human brain.  In the case of malaria, a disease that spread all over the world and killed millions of humans, the cure was first tested on sparrows.  The malaria vaccine proved helpful on sparrows and cured them of the disease and was then given to all humans to help them survive. In this case, the testing was inevitable but was it right to run human clinical trials to risk more human lives and not to test the vaccine on sparrows? A wise person would not argue against it.

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There are animal testing standards that are strictly being followed almost all around the world. Strict lawful action is taken against people who don’t conduct animal testing according to the law. The Animal Ethics Committee (AEC) of Australia makes sure that no animal is harmed in the animal experimentation procedure and also decides if certain medical research can be conducted on animals or not. There is also a rule named Animal Welfare Act which makes sure that no one would be able to harm laboratory animals. Experiments involving animals are monitored by government institutions and world animal rights organizations making sure no harm is done. This proves that animals are not being skinned alive and civilized humans are using them as respectful test subjects for human welfare.

The Foundation for Biomedical Research has also proved that all major medical breakthroughs for the last century are because of animal research. Scientific research on animals is responsible for the development of penicillin, organ transplant, uncountable vaccines to viruses, and many other medical discoveries. Insulin which revolutionized the treatment of diabetes was first isolated from dogs in 1922. The antibiotic vaccines for the treatment of leprosy were developed using armadillos and then to human beings after they were successful. Even the influenza pandemic that claimed millions of human lives was cured by first using the influenza vaccine on laboratory animals.

There is no good alternative to using animals for medical research. Animals like chimpanzees and other mammals who are in groups of primates closely resemble humans that’s why they are mostly prioritized. Even supercomputers nowadays can’t be used for modeling interactions between molecules, cells, and tissues. Even if they could, computers still lack physical reactions to problems like pain, nausea, and stress which can only be seen in animals. For any experiment/ vaccine to be approved first it needs substantial evidence that it’s safe to use on humans. The evidence is first taken from animals and after it’s successful only then it is allowed to be used on humans. For any new medical vaccine to be approved it must first fulfill these criteria to be regulated and save lives. These are the reasons why animal research testing cannot and should not be stopped.

Some animal activists are of the opinion that animal testing should be banned because we already have sufficient information about various diseases. This is not true at all because new viruses and bacteria are formed every year and scientists need to explore new remedies every year. If animal testing is banned then it will result in massive destruction of human lives. Plagues, viruses, and harmful bacteria will run free without notice and human survival will be compromised. If animal testing is banned then the scientists will have to directly test the formulated drugs on people that would be much crueler. People will start dying after testing or developing diseases only because the new drugs were used without testing.

In conclusion, we are not against animal cruelty and don’t want a single animal to die or suffer because of drug testing in laboratories but for now, there is no other alternative to using animals. Scientists should turn their attention towards finding better alternatives to using innocent animals for dangerous drugs. Government should take strict actions against those who don’t follow all protocols while testing drugs on animals. Humans are compelled to hurt the animals but for good reasons that are mentioned above and animal experiments should not be discouraged at least for now.

Why Animals Should Not Be Used For Research – 500 Word Short Argumentative Essay

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Animals live and die like us humans but humans don’t let them enjoy the basic right to live. Poor innocent animals are captured and put into cages so that new medicines can be tested on them for humans to survive. Animals are often put to inhumane torture and cruel suffering until they die screaming in cages and testing laboratories. The torture and suffering that animals endure while being tested in laboratories are unimaginable. Animals have been used for medical testing in laboratories for centuries but now many people have stood against this cruel torture. We also stand with the animals and in this argumentative essay, we will use arguments to convince you that animals should not be used for research purposes.

Like many people believe animals are not just used to test vaccines, they are also used as test subjects for skin irritancy and eye irritancy treatments. First, the skin and eye irritancy is inflicted in perfectly healthy animals and then used to find the cause. Imagine putting test products into rabbits’ eyes which irritates so much that they become blind. Imagine putting skin irritation products on a dog and the poor dog scratches itself to death because scientists don’t find the cure for that problem. Biologically chimpanzees resemble humans the most to humans as they are also primates. Therefore they are used as the main test subjects and as a result, millions of chimps die every year. Humans are truly barbaric to animals and it’s time this torture should come to an end.

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Medical science is developing every day and with new and advanced techniques for testing that are available animals should be left alone. Scientists should turn their attention towards testing cell cultures and performing tests on microorganisms. The use of animals should be prohibited everywhere and human volunteers should come forward for the rights of animals. Animals do provide us with milk, leather, wool, meat, and so many other products and we should respect that. Humans should not make their lives unbearable and unliveable.

According to the National Institute of Health, more than 95 out of 100 drugs that show good results in animals fail on humans. This proves that even if thousands of animals are killed during the making of a drug only 5% of these drugs can be used on humans. Doctor Richard Klausner once said that the history of cancer-curing research has been the history of curing cancer in the mouse but it still doesn’t work on humans. This means that the cures that are obtained from killing millions of innocent animals never even make it to the shelves of medical stores. This is the time we ask ourselves if animal lives are so worthless that they should be wasted for nothing?

Many scientists use animals as dead test subjects and they don’t care about their feelings and emotions at all. They hurt the poor animals and then put them into cages to suffer tremendously as they only care about being successful in their research. Animals in research that are used for animal tests mostly die because scientists are unable to find the right cure for the disease. Research on animals should be banned because it’s inhumane, unethical, and goes against the basic rights of living things.

In conclusion, animals big or small have their own lives, emotions, feelings, and thoughts and humans should respect them. Researchers need to develop non-animal research methods by using technology and stop this animal cruelty as soon as possible. Artificial intelligence technology should be used to build human-patient simulators and virtual human models so that we can peacefully coexist with animals and respect their right to live.

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FAQ About Should Animal Experimentation Be Used for Biomedical Research Essay

❓ What Are The Arguments For Animal Testing?

All major drugs like vaccines for influenza, malaria, and other fatal viruses have been obtained after testing them on animals. Mostly any medicine that works in chimpanzees also works on humans and helps save precious human lives.

❓ What Are The Arguments Against Animal Testing?

95 out of 100 medicines that work just fine on animals don’t work on human beings. This means that millions of animals that are subjected to cruelty and brutality lose their lives for nothing. 

References

  • https://www.animalethics.org.au/animal-ethics-committees
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Welfare_Act_of_1966
  • https://www.peta.org/international/
  • https://fbresearch.org/
  • https://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/06/health/research-chimps-stuck-in-labs/index.html
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