animal lab research pros and cons

8/16/2019 Animal Lab Research Pros and Cons

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PROS CONS

Allow researchers to study a test subject for a whole life

span

Humans can live up to 80 years or more, which means some

scientists would be dead before others results will be gathered.

Laboratory mice, on the other hand, only live for 2 to 3 years,

giving researchers an opportunity to study effects of genetic

manipulation or treatments over an entire lifetime. In some

cases, they can continue to study across several generations.

his is why mice and rats have been used for long!term canceresearch.

Cruel and inhumane treatment

"rotocols in animal testing are often painful to the test sub#e

hey are forced fed, deprived of food and water, restrained

physically for prolonged periods, inflicted with burns, wound

and pain to test for healing process effects and remedies, a

even $illed through nec$!brea$ing or asphy%iation. his is

according to the Humane &ociety International. 'hen testin

evaluate irritation caused by cosmetics, for e%ample, a rabb

eyes will be held open by clips so it cannot blin$ away the

products being evaluated. he clips usually stay on for days

and to ensure the rabbits stay in place, they are incapacitate

&ome e%perimentation also involves using lethal doses of

certain chemicals to determine how much can $ill animals.

Humans and animals are almost identical in many ways

he )*+ of chimpanees are -- similar with humans, while

he genetics of mice are -8 similar. Humans and animals are

also biologically similar, having the same set of organs,

bloodstream and central nervous system, which is why they are

affected with the same diseases and health conditions. /iven

hese circumstances, animals used in e%perimentation do serveas appropriate research sub#ects.

Animals make poor test subjects

his statement is a direct contradiction from what proponen

believe about how closely related animals and humans are

anatomically and biologically, because of the many metabol

cellular, and anatomical differences between the two specie

sing rats for to%icity, for e%ample, must not be accepted as

reliable since humans are nowhere close to being 10!$ilogra

rats, according to homas Hartung, professor of evidence!bto%icology at ohns Hop$ins niversity. his is further suppo

by the 203 study in the +rchives of o%icology that states th

the lac$ of direct comparison of human data versus that of a

mouse ma$es the usefulness of research data dubious.

Provides adeuate livin!" whole body system test subject

*o other living thing in this planet has the closest anatomical

structure as humans than animals. + human body is e%tremely

comple% that cell cultures in a petri dish cannot provide

sufficient test results or proof that a cure or product is effective.

esting a drug for side effects, for e%ample, re4uires a

circulatory system that will carry the drug to different organs.&tudying interrelated processes is also best done in sub#ects

with endocrine system, immune system, and central nervous

system, something humans and animals have. 'hat about the

use of computer models5 hey would re4uire accurate

nformation that is gathered from animal research.

Success in animal e#perimentation does not euate to

human safety

'hen the sleeping pill thalidomide was tested on pregnant r

mice, cats and guinea pigs, there were no incidence of birth

defects, e%cept when administered at e%tremely high doses

However, when it was used by pregnant women, it resulted severe deformities affecting 0,000 babies.

• he arthritis drug 6io%%, which turned out great on

animals was really bad news on humans because it cau

more than 20,000 heart attac$s and sudden cardiac dea

• + ma#ority of the drugs that passed animal tests, -7

be e%act, failed in human clinical trials.

• 00 of the drugs designed to treat stro$e wor$ed on

animals, but completely failed in humans

• ver 89 vaccines for HI6 wor$ed well in primates, b

failed in humans

Can lead to misleadin! research

&ome medicines and products that are harmful to animals a

actually valuable to humans. +spirin, for e%ample, was almo

shelved because it proved dangerous for animals. Imagine w

would have happened if aspirin was completely ta$en off the

pharmaceutical list5 here would have been no way to lowe

ris$ of organ transplant being re#ected.


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Animals are protected from abuse and mistreatment

:ontrary to what most opponents believe, animal research is

highly regulated, with laws enacted to protect animals. &ince

-;;, the federal +nimal 'elfare +ct have been regulating

animal e%perimentation.

I+::? that will approve all proposals to

use animals for e%perimentation.

he I+:: will be responsible for enforcing humane treatment

of animals.


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are wasting plenty of government dollars allocated for


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)ewer animals are used in research than as food for

humans

:ompared to the amount of chic$en, cattle, sheep and pigs that

humans eat, relatively few of them are used in e%perimentation.

'ith consideration to the medical progress and advancement

such tests provided, it is a small price to pay. o illustrate, for

every chic$en used in research, an e4uivalent of 370 are used

as food.

Plenty of animal lives are wasted

:onsidering all the tests that failed, not to mention other non

e%perimental factors that affect animals, there is a significan

number of animal lives wasted for nothing. hey suffer or ge

$illed during the e%periment, and suffer the same fate after t

e%periment. @ut what is really inhumane and unethical are t

poor research procedures used by some facilities. &erious f

were discovered in plenty of studies in the E and the .&.

use rodents, according to a peer!reviewed study conducted

200-. &election bias was a ma#or problem, but even with

randomiation and blinding techni4ue used, proper selection

animals still failed. here is also a lac$ of hypothesis or ob#e

related to the study.

Contributes to many cures and treatments that save many

human lives

he ma#ority of the medical brea$throughs that have happened

n the last 00 years were direct results from animal research

and e%perimentation, according to the :alifornia @iomedical

animal lab research pros and cons

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