Tyler Petroccione

4/8/16
Five Reasons To Stop Animal Testing

1. It is Unethical
According to the Human Society International, animals are force fed, experience food and water
deprivation, inflicted with burns and wounds to study the healing process, and endure prolonged
periods of physical restraint. This is unethical and frankly unacceptable behavior. We are causing the
pain and suffering of animals in order to make a profit in the make-up industry. We are testing on
animals to make money and customers are buying these animal-tested products to look pretty.
There are alternative methods to test make-up, considering there are hundreds of cosmetic companies
that have banned the testing of animals. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported in 2010
that 97,123 animals suffered pain during experiments while being given no anesthesia for relief.

2. Unreliable
Many products that pass tests in laboratory animals are extremely dangerous when consumed by
humans. Also many products that are harmful to laboratory animals are completely safe for humans.
Aspirin, Penicillin, and insulin all failed during animal testing. Blood transfusion were delayed 200
years by animal studies, while the Polio vaccine was delayed 40 years because of testing on monkeys.
So essentially we are just testing on these animals for no real reason. If the tests on animals are more
often incorrect than they are correct why are we using them. There needs to be a better, safer, and more
reliable way to test products without harming innocent animals.

3. Alternative Methods Exist

Studying cell cultures in vitro, in a petri dish can produce more relevant results than animals testing
because human cells can be used. Administering small doses in human volunteers and then analyzing
their blood is another alternative to animal testing. Artificial human skin can be made and grown in
test tubes and can produce more useful results than testing chemicals on animal skin. Being able to test
on humans, without harm provides a clear conclusion, rather than guessing if the results will be reliable
when used by humans. If you are testing a product to see if it is safe for humans, humans seem like
they would be the best candidate. Also as time, technology, and science advances we can begin to
reduce animal testing and use artificial human skin permanently.

4. Expensive
The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) spends $14 billion of its $31 billion annual budget on
animal research. Based on these statistics it is clear we are spending an insane amount of time and
money on animal testing. Although alternative methods may be more time consuming, they do save
money and protect the safety of animals.

5. Europe, Israel, and India

Europe, the world's largest cosmetic market, Israel and India have already banned animal testing for
cosmetics, and the scale or import of newly animal-tested beauty products. If Europe, the largest
cosmetic market in the world can make the change and ban animal testing, the rest of the world should
be able to follow in their footsteps. There are plenty of reputable cosmetic companies that do not test
their products on animals and are completely safe for human use, such as Bath and Body works, Lush,
and Paul Mitchell. There are alternative methods proven to be just as effective, if not more effective
than animal testing.