Animal Rights

ANIMAL TESTING

Animal testing or animal research is the use of non-human animals in scientific experimentation. It is estimated that 50 to 100 million vertebrate animals worldwide — from zebrafish to non-human primates — are used annually. Although much larger numbers of invertebrates are used and the use of flies and worms as model organisms is very important, experiments on invertebrates are largely unregulated and not included in statistics.

Safety tests are conducted on a wide range of chemicals and products, including drugs, vaccines, cosmetics, household cleaners, pesticides, foodstuffs, and packing materials. The safety testing of chemicals and consumer products probably accounts for only about 10 percent to 20 percent of the use of animals in laboratories, or approximately two to four million animals in the United States. Yet the use of animals in safety testing figures prominently in the animal research controversy.

It raises issues such as the ethics and humaneness of deliberately poisoning animals,
the propriety of harming animals for the sake of marketing a new cosmetic or household product, the applicability of animal data to humans, and the possibility of sparing millions of animals by developing alternatives to a handful of widely used procedures.

OPINION about ANIMAL TESTING

The shift toward non-animal testing methods, such as human cell-based tests, will result in more accurate, applicable data and will ensure greater safety for humans. But it also will save hundreds of thousands of animals.

The shift toward non-animal testing methods, such as human cell-based tests, will result in more accurate, applicable data and will ensure greater safety for humans. But it also will save hundreds of thousands of animals.

Animals used in toxicity tests and other experimental research suffer terribly in laboratory cages. They also can feel great physical pain when toxic chemicals are tested on them. We are fortunate to have advanced technologies that allow researchers to develop remarkably accurate testing methods. Now we can protect animals by relying less on rats, mice and other animals commonly used in experiments. =]