Animal testing is an experiment conducted on non-human species to examine the effectiveness of medicine, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food additives, and agrochemicals. This assessment method is usually performed in universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical labs, and animal testing laboratories. This procedure is followed for various reasons including research, fundamental knowledge about the organism, studies, and testing the cure for a disease. Applied research is performed for disease treatments, breeding, defense research, toxicology, and cosmetic testing. Though the method is referred to as mild experimentation, it will affect the animals physically and psychologically. Some animals die after the experimentation while others live and undergo multiple research.
What Types of Animals Are Used in This Procedure?
Numerous species are used for animal testing such as rabbits, monkeys, cats, dogs, fish, mice, pigs, and in some places chimpanzees. Every year around 150 million animals are put into the laboratory for research purposes. The exact number of animals remains unknown because only a few states undertake the experiment and release the results and studies. In the United States, the laboratories perform research on 90% of the animals including mice, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates are excluded from the statistics.
Germany, France, and the United Kingdom are countries ranked at the top of the list by using around 120 million animals per year. The British alone use 3 million animals for animal testing every year, this statistic doesn’t include the purpose breed for the research. Animals brought up in such observations go through stress and deprivation and their lives are not even included in the official records it seems. However, HSI suggested providing statistics about the usage of animals that are being used, bred, and killed for research.
What Kind of Experiments Do the Animals Undergo?
Animal testing is performed on different animals for different purposes. Following are some examples of animal testing:
- Dogs - lungs, hearts, and kidneys are damaged and removed to know how the substances will affect the human heart function.
- Monkey - The infant monkeys are separated from the mother to understand human psychology during extreme stress.
- Mice - They are fed with chemicals for two years to check if they cause cancer in humans.
- Ferrets - this species gets infected with painful killer disease and dies without any medications. It is used to study how humans might contract the same disease.
- Pigs - they are fixed with some devices like pacemakers or dental implants to see how human bodies react to such things.
- Pregnant Rabbits - are fed with pesticides for a certain period to study how the mother and the baby will react to such chemicals.
- Sheep - These species undergo high pressure i.e. deep underwater and are observed when they return to normal space.
- Rats - Being sealed in a tube and exposed to cigarette smoke to study how humans react to smoke.
- Baboons - the endometrial tissues are inserted into the baboons to stimulate the pain of endometriosis to check how humans are affected by the disorder.
- Horses - They got infected with the terrible virus hepatitis and studied by the researchers how humans get affected by this disease.
Animal testing is not an easy one, inducing heavy pain and not giving medicine is awful for them. Sometimes these experiments take months or even years. Animals may have symptoms like vomiting, irritation, rashes, diarrhea, rashes, bleeding, loss of appetite, weight loss, respiratory distress, salivation, paralysis, lethargy, tumors, heart failure, liver disease, cancer, and death.
The animals that go through the experiment will not have any painkillers but are forced to tolerate the excruciating pain. After the experimentation, they will be killed and the tissues will be used for further studies. Some animals are even used for multiple experiments.
Will This Testing Affect Them?
The experimentation affects the animal physically and mentally. Some consider this as unethical and unnecessary as it is cruel.
The results obtained from the animals that were raised under stressful conditions wouldn’t be precise enough to apply to a human. Studies claim that 90% of the animals that were kept showed abnormal behavior as a result of stress, isolation, and being enclosed with detainment. They went insane, pacing up and down in the locked cage, rocking back and forth, and doing repetitive actions. To their astonishment, the animals self-harm themselves by tearing their hair and biting their flesh.
Where Do They Get the Animals for Testing?
Most animals used for testing are purpose-bred which means that they are specifically raised for scientific experiments. Some people raise and sell purpose-bred animals, known as class A dealers. They are examined and licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Providers who sell purpose-bred animals such as mice, rats, birds, and cold-blooded animals fish, octopus, frogs, cats, and turtles are not licensed and examined by the USDA.
A few species are usually taken from forests such as birds and monkeys. Whereas cats and dogs are bought from Class B dealers through advertisements, auctions, or animal farms. Some laboratories acquire animals straight from animal farms or shelters which is referred to as pound seizure.
Alternatives for Animal Testing
While technology has developed with innovations and advancements, switching to non-animal research would be a rather better solution. The sequencing of the human genome, computational biology, and high-speed robot automation of cell-based screening systems are some of the examples of techno updates in science. With the assistance of these tools, they can examine how chemicals/ drugs react with the normal human process in the cells and molecules.
Instead of sacrificing animals, scientists can attempt to decode the data and process it with the help of scientific tools.
Animal Testing Laws
Laws regarding animal testing vary by country. In the United States, the Animal Welfare Act sets standards for the treatment of animals in research, but many advocacy groups argue that it does not do enough to protect animals. In the European Union, the use of animals in testing is strictly regulated by the Cosmetics Regulation, which prohibits the sale of cosmetics products and ingredients tested on animals.
The EU also recognizes the Three Rs principle of Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement, which aims to reduce the number of animals used in testing and improve their welfare. Other countries have similar regulations, but the specifics of animal testing laws can change frequently, so it’s important to stay informed about current regulations in your area.
Banning Animal Testing
To eliminate animal testing, many companies and organizations commit to reducing or entirely banning animal testing, either by developing alternative testing methods or by promoting the use of existing non-animal test methods.
Overall, while the use of animals in testing remains a controversial issue, there is a growing consensus that alternatives to animal testing should be sought and supported whenever possible.
