Do humans feel and animals don’t? Is it immensely immoral to kill humans but ordinary to kill animals? Is the suffering of millions of innocent animals worthy to save one human? Almost 40% of all animals are used in animal testing and more than 50% of these animals die. Animal testing is a controversial issue that some people find extremely normal while others find it extremely eccentric. Animal testing must be completely stopped due to the cruel behavior being applied to animals and due to the inaccuracy of these tests.
First of all, animal testing should be banned because of the immoral cruelty people treat animals with. Animals in laboratories spend their life in cages, never feeling the warmth of the sun or the breeze on their skin. They are either locked up in over crowded cages or kept in isolation. They are never provided with pain relief after being subjected to painful tests, and are killed once the testing has been completed. It is simply cruel to abuse innocent souls like that even if it is for the sake of medical development. For example, writer Jane Goodall said in one of her books “ I Acknowledge Mine” where she talks about her visit to one of the labs that apply animal testing, “I am still hunted by the memory of her eyes, and the eyes of other chimpanzees I saw that day. They were dull and blank, like the eyes of people who have lost all hope...”
Animal testing is not only inhumane, but also it is inherently inaccurate. Millions of animals suffer and die everyday testing medical drugs in the name of “cosmetic safety.” These tests are not even accurate. It is known from the pharmaceutical sector that 9 out of every 10 new drugs which appear to be safe and effective in animal tests turn out to be the opposite in human clinical studies. This is simply because the human body system is different from that of an animal, so what seems to be harmless in humans is harmful in animals and vice versa. For instance, researchers working with monkey models of HIV tested a vaccine on the monkeys and subsequently gave the vaccine to humans who were harmed as a result. Also, a drug named TGN1412 was tested on animals and humans. All the human patients suffered life-threatening side-effects which didn’t appear in animals.
In brief, cruelty towards animals and inaccurate test results are proof enough that animal testing must be ceased. We as people must show mercy to animals and value their lives as we value ours. They deserve to live as much as we do...
