The importance of animals to medical research

         This post has a different kind of subject, much more important, but not less interesting, and also considered one of the most debated topics of our times. I hope you like it.

       

      Animals have been used for research since there has been research itself. The earliest references to animal testing are found in the writings of the Greeks in the 2nd and 4th centuries BC. It has been one of the most debated topics of our times. Many people argue that it is unmoral to test products on any kind on animals, while many scientists believe that animal testing and experimentation is one of the only ways that they can discover many medical or other unique breakthroughs.  

 Experiments on animals have been an important part in many key medical advances, including the development of antibiotics, vaccines, and surgical techniques. On the other hand, the critics of animal testing base their argument on the grounds of morality, the necessity or the strength of this procedure, whether proper authority to perform such tests is granted, whether such tests are actually needed and whether such tests provide us with any useful information. It is noteworthy that many medical procedures also have to be tested for safety in animals before even being tested on human beings.

Following the above reasoning, animal rights activists argue that animals have a right to their own life and that they are not ours to do with as we please. According to PETA, “As many as 115 million animals are experimented on and killed in laboratories in the U.S. every year. Therefore, the supporters of animal rights say that animals have the right to live their own life peacefully, and that we are not allowed to meddle with them just because we can. Some also believe that the goals of this type of testing are not significant. 

Scientifically speaking, animal research is incredibly important and necessary for a wide range of reasons. One reason is to develop new vaccines and treatments and cures for many diseases. Also this helps research to ensure that new products are safe to use, thus, preventing they from they blinding us, burning our skin, or killing us. Animals do make good research subjects for many reasons and research on them can tell us a lot about ourselves. Animals are extremely similar to humans and are exposed to many of the same health problems. Supporters refute this statement by emphasizing that the brutal treatment of animals in tests is administered most of the time with anesthesia. Animal testing serves as an early screening for products before they can be tested on humans. Companies are normally not even allowed to go forward with human testing until they have shown pre-clinical data indicating the safe usage of different drugs.

In the midst of all this, is important to know that a lot has been done over the years to help find alternative ways to using animals in research. The cosmetics industry, which 20 years ago tested nearly all its products on animals, has finally come to a close. Many companies have reduced their use of whole-animal testing by as much as 90% and some have got rid of it entirely.

In conclusion, it is hard to remove animal testing completely. For me the best and most effective option, like a conscious consumer, is try to prevent animal testing by boycotting certain products that do require that kind of testing, in an attempt to reduce the number of animals being harmed in these experiments.