Animal Testing: Examples & Pros And Cons

What Are The Pros And Cons of Animal Testing?

Pros:

  

1. It helps researchers find drugs and treatments to improve health and medicine. Several medical treatments have been made possible through animal testing, such as cancer and HIV drugs, insulin, antibiotics, vaccines, and more. It is thus considered vital for the improvement of human health and also why the scientific community and some of the public support it. Some members of the public do not support animal testing for cosmetic use, but do still support animal testing for medicine and the development of new drugs to cure diseases.
2. It helps to ensure the safety of drugs and other substances that humans use or are regularly exposed to. Drugs in particular can carry a lot of danger with their use but animal testing helps researchers gauge the safety level of drugs before they commence trials on humans. This means that human harm is reduced and lives are saved.
3. Animal testing is used because animals are considered similar to humans. Thus, scientists recognize the limitations and difference. As animals are considered to be the closest match to humans, the testing is done on them as the data and results are considered the best in terms of application to humans.

Cons:

1. Countless numbers of animals are experimented on then killed. The animals that are not killed will be held in captivity for the remaining part of their lives. Several of these animals, however, are used in experiments for substances which will not see approval or will not be consumed or used by the public. This gives the idea that the animal died in vain as no direct benefits to humans occurred from the animal testing.
2. Animal testing costs a lot of money. The animals used must be fed, housed, cared for and treated with drugs or a similar experimental substance. Despite the controlled environment being important, it comes at a high cost. Also, animal testing may occur more than once and over the span of a few, if not several months. The cost of the animals themselves must be included. Some companies breed animals specifically for animal testing and these animals can be purchased through them.
3. There is the argument that the reaction of a drug in an animal is different to that in a human. Some believe that animal testing is unreliable, and following that piece of criticism is the premise that because the animals are living in an unnatural environment, they are under stress.Therefore, their reaction will be different to that of if they were living in their natural environment. This further weakens the validity of animal testing.

Information taken from http://www.aboutanimaltesting.co.uk/using-animals-testing-pros-versus-cons.html

What Are Examples of Animal Testing?

         1. Draize Test

This rabbit is the test subject of a Draize Test

It was used for testing cosmetics, and the procedure included applying 0.5ml or 0.5g of the test substance to the eye or skin of a restrained, conscious animal, and then leaving it out for a set amount of time before washing the substance off and recording its effects. The animals are observed for up to 2 weeks for signs of erythema and edema in the skin test, and redness, swelling, discharge, ulceration, hemorrhaging, cloudiness, or blindness in the tested eye. The test subject is usually an albino rabbit, while occasionally other animals are used. The animals are euthanized (killed) after testing if it renders irreversible damage to the eye or skin, but if there is no permanent damage, the animals are reused after a 'wash-out' period, in which all traces of the experimental substance are dispersed from the test site.

2. Cosmetics Testing On AnimalsCosmetics are tested on animals to ensure the safety and hypoallergenic properties of the products for human use. The products or ingredients are applied to the mucous membranes of the animals, including the eyes, nose and mouth, to determine whether there will be allergic or other reactions.

In Europe, items that were not tested on animals carry this symbol

Information taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draize_test and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testing_cosmetics_on_animals

More about Animal Testing

Definition

Animal Testing is the use of non-human animals in experiments.

History

The earliest references to animal testing are found in the writings of the Greeks in the 2nd and 4th centuries BCE. Aristotle (384–322 BCE) and Erasistratus (304–258 BCE) were among the first to perform experiments on living animals. Galen, a physician in 2nd-century Rome, dissected pigs and goats, and is known as the "father of vivisection."Avenzor, an Arabic physician in 12th-century Moorish Spain who also practiced dissection, introduced animal testing as an experimental method of testing surgical procedures before applying them to human patients.
Animals have been used repeatedly through the history of biomedical research. In the 1880s, Louis Pasteur convincingly demonstrated the germ theory of medicine by inducing anthrax in sheep^. In the 1890s, Ivan Pavlov famously used dogs to describe classical conditioning. Insulin was first isolated from dogs in 1922, and revolutionized the treatment of diabetes. On November 3, 1957, a Russian dog, Laika, became the first of many animals to orbit the earth. In the 1970s, antibiotic treatments and vaccines for leprosy were developed using armadillos, then given to humans^. The ability of humans to change the genetics of animals took a large step forwards in 1974 when Rudolf Jaenisch was able to produce the first transgenic mammal, by integrating DNA from the SV40 virus into the genome of mice^. This genetic research progressed rapidly and, in 1996, Dolly the sheep, was born, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell.
Toxicology testing became important in the 20th century. In the 19th century, laws regulating drugs were more relaxed. For example, in the U.S., the government could only ban a drug after a company had been prosecuted for selling products that harmed customers. However, in response to the Elixir Sulfanilamide disaster of 1937 in which the eponymous drug killed more than 100 users, the U.S. congress passed laws that required safety testing of drugs on animals before they could be marketed. Other countries enacted similar legislation. In the 1960s, in reaction to the Thalidomide tragedy, further laws were passed requiring safety testing on pregnant animals before a drug can be sold.

 

Where are Animal Tests conducted?

Animal tests are conducted all over the world causing horrific suffering to animals. The research is conducted inside universities, medical schools,pharmaceutical companies, fams, defense establishments and commercial facilities that provide animal-testing services to the industry.

What kind of animals are used for testing?

The majority of animals used for testing are rats and mice. Other animals used are hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, frogs, sheep and cattle.

What is animal testing used for?

It is used for pure research such as genetics, developmental biology, behavioural studies, as well as applied research such as biomedical research, drug testing and cosmetics testing. Animals are also used for education, breeding, and defense research.

Information taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_testing