The following passages were written by a 9th grader
The number of animals being tested is huge. But in order to truly comprehend why animal testing should be banned, I have to tell you what the animals have to go through. Hundreds of millions of animals are used for experimentation every year. They are manipulated and given foreign substances. Even if, right now, we all decided to free animals that were about to undergo testing, most animals would not survive because they wouldn’t be used to the wild. But at this exact moment, it’s extremely unlikely to free all the animals. So what are the animals going though right now? They are injected with unnatural substances that are foreign to their chemical structure. These substances have never been used before in their natural habitat, or maybe ever. That it is unfair to the animals. Clark S., from idebate.org, says “If sexual and racial moral discrimination is wrong, then so too is specieism.” Humans have no right to test on animals. Animals exhibit the same psychological characteristics as humans such as feelings and pain (Debatabase). Now, it may seem necessary to test on animals because of their physical structure. Yes, it’s true that animals have complex interactions with cells, organs, and tissues (PETA). But one has to consider this. Taking an animal, injecting it with a foreign substance that it would never endure, keeping the animal in a stressful and unnatural environment, and then trying to apply the knowledge to humans is pure foolishness. Think about it, animals and humans differ in great amounts. It is just not logical to apply results of animals to humans. Besides, human testing already exists. Some people already get paid to be tested on. Or sometimes, the people willing to get tested in hopes it may cure them. Either way, the FDA says ninety-two percent of drugs that safely work on animals fail in human trails because of danger of drug or complete failure of drug (PETA). And the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine and British Medical Journal confirm that most animal experiments are completely irrelevant to the substance being tested or don’t help. The reason the animal is tested is to make the consumer feel better. The New York Times says, “Researchers report evidence that the mouse model has been totally misleading for at least three major killers —sepsis, burns and trauma. As a result, years and billions of dollars have been wasted following false leads.”
Alexander Fleming said, “Modern non-animal research methods are faster, cheaper, and more relevant to humans than cruel and irrelevant animals tests.” So if animal tests are not working, what is? There obviously are different methods for animal testing. So why is it still in use? The Humane Society provides plenty of alternatives to animal testing. There are many computer-modeled tests that can replace animals. Examples include the 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake Photo toxicity Test that replaces the use of mice in the testing of medicines for their potential to cause sunlight induced “photo-toxicity.” The Isolated Chicken Eye Test use eyes from animals slaughtered for the meat industry instead of live rabbits to detect chemicals and products that are severely irritating to the eyes. The UN can enforce these alternatives instead of the animal testing. And if that doesn’t work, the UN should have the right to punish businesses. A fine could be issued to that business based on its annual sales. If the problem persists, the business will be fined double it’s last fine. And if the problem still continues, the head of department or CEO of that business will be arrested for animal mistreatment and sent to prison for a minimum of one year.
A common question is how to start the banning of animal testing. Taking small steps at a time is the key to ban animal testing. The first step is to replace it or reduce it. Then a replacement tool has to be found such as cell and tissue tests. These tests as well as different types of computer models are more cost effective, rapid, reliable, and do not hurt any animals (The Humane Society). With all the logic behind banning animal testing, why should animal testing continue?
Animals simply do not have a right to be tested on. It is just unfair to the animal itself. It is unnecessarily harming animals when there are cheaper, more effective, and easier ways. The negative argued that animal testing should exist. But as of now, there is no logical reason to believe that because of all the other advanced more accurate methods. Animal testing is cruel and not efficacious. Recent research has shown money and time has been wasted using lab rats for testing. It makes no sense for a buyer or producer to uses tests on animas if it doesn’t work. Countries can instead use blood from human volunteers to test for the presence of fever-causing contaminants in circulatory medicines can save hundreds of thousands of rabbits each year from traditional "pyrogen" tests. EpiSkin™, EpiDerm™ and SkinEthic—each composed of artificial human skin—can save thousands of rabbits each year from painful skin corrosion and irritation tests. The Reduced Local Lymph Node Assay for skin allergy testing makes it possible to reduce animal use by up to 75 percent compared with traditional guinea pig and mouse tests. With all the evidence against animal testing, it makes no sense why it is still in use today.