“If humans killed each other at the same rate that we kill animals, we would be extinct in 17

days.”-Anonymous. For many years, the methods of animal testing, research and experimentation have

been discussed, protested and questioned. This will continue as long as society argues for and against the

science it provides. Debaters have fully analyzed both sides of the argument, making it hard for

individuals to choose a side they support since there is so much differing information. The top nine

countries with the highest rates of animal testing, listed in order, are the United States of America, Japan,

China, Australia, France, Canada, The UK, Germany, and Brazil. (5) According to Peta2, some of the

horrifying experiments happening right now on animals includes taking monkey babies away from their

mothers in order to cause mental illness and mental trauma, monkeys are being taken from their habitat

and families in the jungle put on planes and shipped to the U.S., sex behavior studies where genitals are

mutilated and the sexual pleasure part of the brain is damaged, military testing, and smoking experiments

where smoke is pumped into an animals nose for hours a day. (9) The significance of this problem is

exponential because it shows how far animal testing has come and if the path continues, it will be

devastating.

“Animals are NOT ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other

way.” (10) Animal testing is extremely harmful to animals, which is unethical, and in return should be

forbidden. This type of experimentation is hard to visually and mentally perceive for most individuals.

Imagine, most of the beauty products in your home have done harm and abuse to animals. This includes

primates having severe reactions to those products before it was put on that beautifully displayed shelf.

How will this slight glimpse into the reality of animal testing help you realize the importance of buying

cruelty-free products? Animals are currently going through these cruel tests right now, causing them

serious physical harm, causing long term psychological effects, and goes against their rights all while

leading to unreliable and incorrect results.

Animal research is psychologically unhealthy for the people doing the testing, and physically and

mentally harmful to the animals as well. These animals not only feel physical pain but psychological as
well. Animals most commonly used include chimpanzees, mice, and rabbits, which all go through

excruciating pain, as would you. Primates are so miss treated that their bodies go through terrible

conditions, such as being purposely blinded intentionally, growing tumors the size of their bodies, and

having electrodes inserted into their cut open skull. (4) The Huffington Post reported in 2013, that many

distinguished universities cannot seem to take care of their primates and have been fined thousands of

dollars. Harvard Medical School killed four primates, one was given too much anesthesia, another was

strangled by a toy it was testing, and the other two died of dehydration. UC Davis had two baby monkeys

die in their care, one had a stuffed animal wrapped around its neck, and the other was squeezed to death

by part of its cage. At Emory University an employee gave a Macaque monkey the incorrect testing

compound. (8) All these extreme acts adversely and unsympathetically abuse these animals.

This type of experimenting is also unethical due to the fact that we as a society have deemed

animals to have specific rights and it is not morally acceptable to violate any of these. We’ve given these

rights to animals even though they cannot communicate their ideas, or have a way to express how harmful

experiments clearly violate their independence and freedom. The Animal Welfare Act (AWA), signed

into law in 1966 in the United States, regulates the treatment of animals in research, exhibition, transport,

and by dealer but does not include certain animals, such as mice, fish, rats, reptiles, amphibians and birds,

which make up about 95% of the creatures being handled in experimentation and they go unaccounted

for. (2) Without being listed under the Animal Welfare Act, these animals are being harmed and injured.

As in the Bible, Proverbs 12:10 states: “The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest

acts of the wicked are cruel.” It is excessively clear that God does not want humankind to go against his

words and harm any animal, however, we should take care of them and stay loyal to Him and his creation.

There are many other phrases in religious documents that teach the principle to not harm other living

beings. Freedom belongs to everyone, including animals, not just humans.

The subjects being experimented on can lead to unreliable results, including flawed data and

conclusions. Ultimately these defects can lead to harmful effects to humans while using a product, which
in some cases can even lead to death. The factors that explain why the results are incorrect and inaccurate

include the primates' behavior while in the laboratory, the differences between human and animals,

including biologically and physically, and contrasting genetics. (1) Over the years, there have been

various events where animal testing has failed to bring an effective drug to the world, harming humans to

a point where it can be lethal. An analysis performed in 2004, shows that ninety-two percent of drugs

made in laboratories while using animals to conduct their research, failed to be approved. From the eight

percent that have been approved, over fifty percent are restrained due to the fact that they caused severe

effects on people. (3) This study was accomplished by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which

shows individuals how serious of a problem this is. This is just one example of a case that resulted in

incorrect conclusions.

Another side of this argument is that many research companies hold the belief that almost all

medicines around today have depended on the testing of animals, and think that if we are to understand

the way a disease works in the human body it must be studied in animals. Many studies have shown there

is a very large gap between animal study data and using it to benefit humans. As reported in LiveScience,

“There are too many variables in anatomy, gene expression, metabolism, immune functions, etc. among

species to safely and predictably extrapolate data.” (6) In testing, a human disease has to be artificially

put into a test subject and because the disease is so complex in humans how can the outcome be remotely

similar? Human conditions and diseases are extremely hard to replicate in an animal, therefore the failure

rate is immensely high when introduced into human trials.

In the future, technology and artificial intelligence will catch up to this problem, finding ways to

create new methods of testing, favoring the side which states that animal testing is harmful to the subjects

and should be banned. One solution being looked at today is a new non-animal technology, called

“organs-on-a-chip.” (3) According to the Wyss Institute, this technology is “composed of a clear flexible

polymer about the size of a computer memory stick that contains hollow microfluidic channels lined by

living human organ-specific cells interfaced with a human endothelial cell-lined artificial vasculature, and
mechanical forces can be applied to mimic the physical microenvironment of living organs, including

breathing motions in lungs and peristalsis-like deformations in the intestine.” (7) As a result, without

harming any innocent animals, scientists are able to clearly examine how human organs respond to drugs.

Another solution to this problem, that includes the general population and could make a big difference, is

that everyone could boycott animal tested products and strictly purchase cruelty-free products so that in

result researches do not have the right amount of funds to continue doing this type of experimentation. It

would also cause the companies stocks and profits to go down, making corporations find a different way

of doing things, therefore making animal testing a thing of the past. I chose the topic of animal testing for

my essay because I love and respect all animals, and in researching this issue, I realize many have

forgotten how human society is negatively impacting animals for their own gain of profits, not taking into

account how it affects the results on other humans or the animals. With a renewed faith in science,

technology, and an informed society wanting to make a difference, we can take a stand and eliminate

animal testing for good.

Works Cited:

1. Akhtar, Aysha. “The Flaws and Human Harms of Animal Experimentation.” Cambridge

Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics : CQ : the International Journal of Healthcare Ethics

Committees, Cambridge University Press, Oct. 2015,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4594046/.

2. “Animal Testing - Pros & Cons.” ProCon.org, animal-testing.procon.org/.

3. Capaldo, Theodora. “Animal Data Is Not Reliable for Human Health Research (Op-Ed).”

LiveScience, Purch, 6 June 2014, www.livescience.com/46147-animal-data-unreliable-

for-humans.html.

4. “Cruelty to Animals in Laboratories.” PETA, 8 Aug. 2017, www.peta.org/issues/animals-

used-for-experimentation/animals-laboratories/.

5. “Facts and Figures on Animal Testing.” Cruelty Free International,

www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/why-we-do-it/facts-and-figures-animal-testing.

6. “Frequently Asked Questions.” Foundation for Biomedical Research,

fbresearch.org/biomedical-research/faq/.

7. “Human Organs-on-Chips.” Wyss Institute, 22 Feb. 2019,

wyss.harvard.edu/technology/human-organs-on-chips/.

8. Orr, Julia, and Julia Orr. “Prestigious Universities Violate the Animal Welfare Act.”

HuffPost, HuffPost, 7 Dec. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/prestigious-

universities_b_4519557?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlL

mNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAA2js0W8C7jTBWfDMOwW3CbaMzFRiaNNpxv

YyOVDb1UaSO8_e6VKnWrECI5xB550Y4P8UlMyJEvUK3oAF8aTNP1HNZyI2gdEO

vUmnVpUhvlrijUfGiJApQd394Rj7rsebQvA-

RfhghjiRCsI4DXGUmA5wjyN4hxY0KwrTlKHF5ZC.

9. peta2. “The 5 Worst Animal Experiments Happening Right Now.” peta2, peta2, 14 Dec.

2017, www.peta2.com/news/current-animal-experiments/.

10. “The Truth about Animals Used for Experimentation.” PETA, 5 Nov. 2018,

www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/animal-testing-101/.