Whether or not animal experimentation is abuse is a tough question. We'll let you decide if lab testing is abuse or not, but here are some things you should know:
There are tons of tests done on animals. Some examples?
The Draize Eye Test
This is used to test shampoos, household detergents, weed killers, and pesticides. The products are put on the conscious, completely awake rabbit's eyes, in order to test if it irritates the eyes. Well, yes it irritates their eyes, but it can still be sold to you because a rabbit's eye is a bad model for a human's eye anyways, so it was kind of pointless. This test is used over and over again, even though we already know the aftermath of this test, and poor rabbits get blinded for no reason!
The "LD50"
The animals used in this test are rabbits, dogs, cats, mice, and guinea pigs. This "LD50" is used to test lipsticks, cleansers, moisturizers, nail polishes, skin care products, and shampoos. The LD50 (which means "Lethal Dose 50%"..Sounds fun, doesn't it?) introduces the different ingredients in a product through the animal's mouth. The animal is fed up to half of its body weight, and then find the dose that will kill half of the animal sample. A minimum of 50 animals are required for this test to be accurate.
Skin Test for Toxicity
The main animals used in this test are rats and rabbits (poor rabbits. They're used in almost every test!) The animal's fur is shaved, and the material being tested is applied to the animal's skin. Many times, the animal's skin is cut or broken so the substance is absorbed better.
Many of the animals used for testing are bred specifically for the purpose, sort of like the horse racing industry, but in this case, all animals can be used. A lot of animals also come from shelters. Some animals commonly used for testing are mice, rats, guinea pigs, birds, hamsters, cats, rabbits, dogs, pigs and monkeys.
Of course, there are some laws to protect the animals, such as the AWA, which is the Animal Welfare Act. But the AWA can only go so far. It only protects mammals, and it excludes birds, mice, and rats that are specifically bred for testing.
BUT..Is it necessary?
Take a look at the viewpoint of one person.
| Does animal testing work? | |
| Yes | No |
| Animal testing has helped to develop vaccines against diseases like rabies, polio, measles, mumps, rubella and TB | Animal experiments can be misleading. An animal's response to a drug can be different to a human's |
| Antibiotics, HIV drugs, insulin and cancer treatments rely on animal tests. Other testing methods aren't advanced enough | Successful alternatives include test tube studies on human tissue cultures, statistics and computer models |
| Scientists claim there are no differences in lab animals and humans that cannot be factored into tests | The stress that animals endure in labs can affect experiments, making the results meaningless |
| Operations on animals helped to develop organ transplant and open-heart surgery techniques | Animals are still used to test items like cleaning products, which benefit mankind less than medicines or surgery |
| Is animal testing morally right? | |
| Yes | No |
| Human life has greater intrinsic value than animal life | Animals have as much right to life as human beings |
| Legislation protects all lab animals from cruelty or mistreatment | Strict controls have not prevented researchers from abusing animals - although such instances are rare |
| Millions of animals are killed for food every year - if anything, medical research is a more worthy death | Deaths through research are absolutely unnecessary and are morally no different from murder |
| Few animals feel any pain as they are killed before they have the chance to suffer | When locked up they suffer tremendous stress. Can we know they don't feel pain? |
| Numbers of animals used in the UK in 2000 | |
| Animals | Number Used |
| Mouse | 1,607,000 |
| Rat | 535,000 |
| Other Rodent | 71,500 |
| Rabbit | 39,700 |
| Carnivore | 11,600 |
| Hoofed mammal | 63,000 |
| Primate | 3,700 |
| Other mammal | 500 |
| Bird | 124,200 |
| Reptile | 15,600 |
| Fish | 243,000 |
| TOTAL | 2,714,800 |
And here is a chart that we made from some research that we found.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| We have better surgery techniques as a result of some animal tests. | A test is not done on one animal, but sometimes on hundreds in order to make it more accurate, which means that hundreds of animals are suffering. |
| Odds are, you’ve used many products that have been tested on animals, so that product must have been helpful. | There are many tests that are unnecessary, but are still being used. With technological advances, we don’t need to use many tests that we still are. |
| Sometimes there is no alternative way to test a product that would be beneficial, so animals are used. | Animals suffer from emotional AND physical abuse. Physical incudes blinding, burning, cutting, and killing, often without anesthesia. |
| There are some laws that protect animals, so some animals are treated well inside the labs and given anesthesia during tests. | Animals are not usually kept in good conditions before or after their testing, and sometimes don't recieve medical treatment from injuries they get in tests. |
After reading this, we'll let you make your own decision about whether this is abuse or not.
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