Animal Testing Essay -- Animal Testing

ISSUE: For the most part, we would not be able to live very comfortably without them. The question of what is considered proper treatment of animals has been highly debated by groups looking at both the moral and ethical issues of the situation. What exactly is our proper role with regard to non-human creatures? Do they have any rights, or may we do as we please with them? These are questions that politicians all over the world have been arguing about for many years, and still is as controversial as ever! PROBLEM: How can animal testing benefit both animals and humans without harming the animals? BACKGROUND: For thousands of years, humans have used animals for a variety of purposes including food, clothing, labor, means of transportation, hunting, medicine, and companionship. However, many personal beauty products, such as lipstick, face cream, anti-perspirant, and laundry detergent all have one major characteristic in common: the suffering and death of millions of animals (Dickinson 13). Canada has no legislation to protect laboratory animals from any form of mistreatment, abuse, or neglect. Great Britain has nothing in the way of constitutional ethical treatment of laboratory animals. In the United States, the U.S. Welfare Animal Act (passed in 1966 and later amended in 1970 and 1976) charges the U.S. Department of Agriculture with overseeing the humane handling and housing of animals in laboratories, pet dealerships, and exhibitions. While the law covers lab animals (such as rabbits, mice, dogs, and monkeys) it does not state that the animals are to be cared for or to be t reated for injuries received from experiments, nor does it state that animals in laboratories can be used for only a limited number of experiments with the least possible suffering and distress (Dickinson 15). In effect then, there is no protection given to lab animals. On average, 25 million animals die every year in North America for the testing of everything from new cosmetics to new methods of warfare. Five hundred thousand to one million of these animals are sacrificed each year to test new cosmetics alone (Dickinson 13). There are many kinds of tests performed on animals. One kind is the Acute Toxicity Test, which requires between 60 and 100 animals to determine what constitutes a lethal dose of a particular substance. The test spans a time period from two weeks to seven years,... ...ly limit their options. They have used animals for so long, their tests will most likely have to be changed. Changing the procedures of these tests could be extremely costly and time consuming. OPTION B: Requiring pet owners to spay or neuter their pets. ADVANTAGES: This is a very effective way to limit the number of animals used in testing. Many of these animals tested are often strays and have had no owner. If pet owners were required to â€Å"fix† their pets, it would really help in controlling the nation-wide pet population. There would be fewer unwanted animals roaming the streets in search for a mate; resulting in fewer unwanted pregnancies. Consequently, scientists would have a limited number of animals to work with. DISADVANTAGES: Breeders and pet-store owners would be in a bad position. This would mean that they would either have to go through tedious amounts of paper work in order to own animals that could still reproduce, or they would have to find a new career! For many people, taking care of animals has been a very big part of their life. Some have come to see it as more of a hobby than a job. For others, it may be the only thing that still brings joy into their lives!