My Voice: Is Animal Testing Necessary?

   Most people cannot stand the thought of their beloved pets suffering or even being made a little uncomfortable. But many animals across the globe are being used in unimaginable ways.

   Everyone has seen the Facebook picture of the bunnies with blush or mascara on, but the problem is much bigger than that.

   Social media doesn’t show the really bad pictures. The ones depicting the little fluffy bunnies with horrible chemical burns or the puppies strapped down in a cage with a mask stuck to their face with gas being pumped in.

   Cosmetics products are only one small part of the issue. The medical industry uses a lot of animals for testing and is where the harm to the most people lies.

   Beagles are actually the most common breed of dogs being bred for use in animal testing. Beagles are naturally obedient and easy going, which is convenient for the type of tests dogs are commonly used for.

   Using animals for tests is not a modern idea. The ancient Greeks, such as Aristotle, did experiments on animals.

   However, in the world we live in today, doing tests on animals is unnecessary and unwise. There are much safer alternatives that produce better results and cost taxpayers less.

   Science has progressed so much over the last few decades that, in the lab, they can make humans cells. Technology has also made an impact by giving scientist computer models and online techniques, people of the past couldn’t even possibly dream of.

   Humans are not the same as animals, no matter how closely related the two are. There are always differences and unexpected things are bound to happen.

   Testing products on actual human tissues and cells would obliterate the chance of something unexpected or dangerous happening in human trials of new products.

   Speaking of human trials, there are tons of cases where tests on animals for a product came out fine but when used in humans the results were often bad and people got hurt.

   For example, in 2006, six men took TGN1412, also known as Theralizumab, this drug  was supposed to suppress the immune system to help with diseases where the immune system attacks itself. It instead caused the men to experience organ failure and brain swelling.

   The same drug had been given to monkeys at a much higher dose, 500 percent higher. There were no bad signs given by the monkeys, so it went on to human trials.

   But, another problem more people tend to care about is, what if we are throwing away cures because they do not work in animals? We are not the same as animals, what if they already found the cure for cancer, but it didn’t work in mice.

   With the alternatives available today, using animals for testing products is inhumane, wasteful and completely unnecessary.

Briana Spurlock
Reporter