Should Animals Be Used For Research Testing? Essay, Research Paper

Animal rights activists continually oppose the medical research that involves animals as test subjects. Too many people have come to the conclusion that medical researchers are cruel and inhumane. In many cases the good of the research is overlooked and the bad is used. Even though many people may believe that animal research is morally wrong, animal research should continue because it is critical to helping heal human lives.

There is not yet an available alternate to animal research. Animal rights activists feel that animal research is morally wrong. Activists feel that research with animals causes severe pain and that many research animals are abused. As described in one of the first essays we have covered, Animal activists show the public “emotionally evocative images” in order to gain a reputation for their party. They base their beliefs on emotions, not facts. These people do not feel that there is a need to put the animals through such pain. But I tell you, someone or something has to be tested on. I value human life, a lot more than an animal. When’s the last time you saw a guinea pig as a doctor? A president? The only cruel sides I see to these experiments are when something has already been proven and scientists keep on experimenting with the animals. That, I consider to be cruel and not humane.

Animal research is a major part of today’s society. Think of how much progress we have gained in human health with the use of animal experimentation. Vaccines against polio, mumps, measles, rubella, and smallpox would not have been possible without such experiments. Brain surgery, open heart surgery, organ transplants and correction of heart defects would not be as easy as they are now without animal research. The list goes on and on. If we were to do away with animal research would be to slow down our society’s advancement of more medicines for our health. There are no alternatives to the animal experiments. Computers can be used to view the animal’s body and internal features, but they can not give you results to vaccines and medicines. Animals need to be tested on to invent a vaccine for diseases such as cancer, aids, stress and many others. The only other alternate to receive a full bodily effect would be to use humans instead of animals. Unless people want to volunteer to be tested on, then animals must be used. Many people do feel that it is immoral to perform test on animals, but when the advantages are put against the disadvantages, the advantages clearly stand out. Without the advancements made with animal research our society would be ruined by plague and disease, animal research is necessary to continued progress in human health. If other methods were available they would be given a fair chance, but for now only animal experimentation works best. If all of the advances in human health were taken away our society would still be in a primitive age. Animal research has taken us out of that age.