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The Pros and Cons of Medical Research on Live Animals
By: Kyla Powell, Adam Tucker, Jazmine Miner,
Braxton Lockner
Pros and Cons of Testing on Live Animals
The idea of using animals to test out new medications is very controversial. The treatment of the animals is said to be “cruel” or “inhumane”. Others find animal testing to be essential for developing new information. Here are some of the positives and negatives on this subject.
Pros of Medical Research using Live Animals
Animal testing has contributed to many life-saving cures and treatments. Nearly every medical breakthrough in the last 100 years has resulted directly from researchers using animals.
Pros of Medical Research using Live Animals
There is no other alternative to testing on a living, whole-body system. Living systems like human beings and animals are extremely complex. Humans and animals are descendents of common ancestors. They all have the same set of organs such as lungs, kidneys, and a heart.
Pros of Medical Research using Live Animals
Animals are appropriate research subjects because they are similar to humans in many ways. Humans and animals are biologically similar they are susceptible to many of the same conditions.
Pros of Medical Research using Live Animals
Animals themselves benefit from the results of animal testing. Testing medicines for potential toxicity improves the lives of human volunteers, because they should not be put in danger unnecessarily.
Pros of Medical Research using Live Animals
Animal research is highly regulated with laws in place to protect animals from mistreatment. The conductor of the experiment has to have certain skills and licenses in order to conduct an experiment on an animal.
Pros of Medical Research using Live Animals
Animals often make better research subjects than humans because of their shorter life cycles. Laboratory mice, for instance, live for only two to three years so researchers can study the effects of treatments or genetic manipulation over a whole lifespan or across several generations.
Pros of Medical Research using Live Animals
Animal researchers treat animals humanely, both for the animals’ sake and to ensure reliable test results. If the researcher treats one animal badly and another normally then the results of the experiment could differ due to stress on the animal.
Cons of Medical Research using Live Animals
Animal testing is cruel and inhumane. Animals used in experiments are used for force-feeding, forced inhalation, food and water deprivation, and are under physical restraint for long periods of time.
Cons of Medical Research using Live Animals
Animal tests are more expensive than alternative methods and are a waste of government research dollars.
Cons of Medical Research using Live Animals
95% of animals used in experiments are not protected by the AWA (Animal Welfare Act)
Cons of Medical Research using Live Animals
Animal tests do not reliably predict results in human beings. 90% of all tests that pass on animals, fail on humans.
Medicare breakthrough involving animal research may still have been made without the use of animals.
Cons of Medical Research using Live Animals
Works Cited
. Animal Testing ProCon. N.p.. Web. 16 Oct 2014.
Can We Eliminate Animals from Medical Research." . N.p.. Web. 16 Oct 2014.
