Running Head: ANIMAL RESEARCH

Animal Testing Research

Bianca Robinson

University of Texas at El Paso

ANIMAL TESTING RESEARCH 2

Abstract

In this research paper, it will be discussed how animal testing affects society. By

answering the three main questions, What are examples of the two sides to animal testing?

How has animal testing helped make advancements? and What alternatives are there to

animal testing? this paper will discuss how animal testing is viewed, how its important, as well

as the alternatives that have been discovered. The purpose of this paper is to answer the three

questions above with research. The controversial viewpoint to animal testing is either for or

against it. People that are for animal testing believe that it is important for the safety of products

as well as for medical reasons. The people that are against animal testing believe that it is cruel

and inhumane to the animals. Animal testing plays an important role in advancements in the

world of medicine, from the formation of vaccines to the advancement of transplants. Although

animal testing has been helpful with advancements, researchers have come up with alternatives

to animal testing.
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Introduction

For many years animals have been used as experiments mainly for medical and cosmetic

purposes. The millions of animals used every year in these tests include mostly mice, rats, frogs,

dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish, and birds, which are eventually

euthanized after the procedures. Animal testing is a process that benefits humans because

animals are used to test products to make sure they do not harm humans. Animal testing is a

controversial topic; either people are for or against animal testing, although there are alternatives

to animal testing. On the other hand animal testing has helped make advancements in todays

society. Experiments on animals have benefitted humans but has harmed innocent animals.

What are the examples of the two sides to Animal testing?

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There are many reasons why people are for or against animal testing. Animal testing is a

topic where it is difficult to choose a side. Either there are millions of innocent animals being

killed every year as well as an increase of advancements or millions of animals being saved and

a decline in human advancements in society. Animals are the most similar objects compared to

humans because they share almost the same characteristics. Chimpanzees share 99% of their

DNA with humans, and mice are 98% genetically similar to humans, which shows how suitable

animals are when testing a product that is for a human (Animal Testing, 2016). The results seen

during animal testing would be the same results seen on a human this is explained in the article,

Should Animals Be Used for Scientific or Commercial Testing, Because animals and humans

are so biologically similar, they are susceptible to many of the same conditions and illnesses,

including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, which explains that animals are useful when it

comes to medical

research (Animal

Testing, 2016).

Therefore people

approve of animal Table 1: In this table is shows different situations where people are for or
against animal testing.

testing for medical

advancements.

Another

reason why people

side with animal

testing would be for

the safety of products.

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There are women and even some men all over the United States that use make-up products. In

order for these products to be safe for make up users, Make-up companies seek animal testing to

ensure their safety on humans. In an interview between Bianca Robinson and Daisy Colon, Daisy

Colon stated that, Animal testing is necessary with cosmetic products because it would be bad

for a brand to put out products that could potentially hurt people if there is a chemical or

ingredient in the makeup that can cause a negative reaction. I think it's also necessary because

people want to know that the products theyre using won't hurt them, cruelty free products make

me feel unsure about their safety, she supports animal testing when it comes to cosmetic

products because it helps ensure her that the make-up products she uses are safe for her own

good (Colon, 2017). Overall people side with animal testing to protect them from harmful

products.

On the other hand there are people that are against animal testing. The reason for people

being against animal testing is due to the cruel and inhumane treatment that animals face in

laboratories. When animals are tested on they experience high measures of mistreatment and

pain. Some protocols during animal

Figure 2: Here is a rabbit that has faced the painful
testing call for burning of the skin, effects from animal testing.

brain damaging, blinding, and even

with-holding of food and water

(Neavs). It is stated how, The US

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

reported in 2010 that 97,123 animals

suffered pain during experiments while

being given no anesthesia for relief,

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which shows how animals are not cared for and neglected when they undergo these tests (Animal

Testing, 2016). Many people sympathize for these animals because these animals are incapable

of protecting themselves during these cruel treatments.

Just like people are against animal testing due to the cruel treatments these animals face

they are also against it because some of these tests are unreliable. Although it was previously

stated that people approve of animal testing due to the similarities that humans and animals

share, there are other people who believe that animals and humans are different and that some

products have different effects on humans than on animals. In the article Animal Testing Cons:

What Every Person Should Know it is said, A sleeping pill tested on animals in the 50s caused

thousands of babies to be born with birth defects, while a heart pill tested on mice was released

to the public only to cause nearly 30,000 heart attacks, which provides a good point that animals

and humans do not have the same similarities (Klazema, 2014). Also, Professor Furlong from

Aston University stated that, it's very hard to create an animal model that even equates closely

to what we're trying to achieve in the human, which gives an effective reason on why people

are against animal testing because the results are not always the same in a human as they are in

an animal (Animal Testing, 2016).

Due to the fact that animals are similar to humans and also that animal testing is helpful

with the safety of cosmetic products for humans is the reason why people approve of animal

testing. On the contrary people are against animal testing because of the cruel treatments that

animals face as well as the unreliable results that derive from animal testing. These are the two

sides to animal testing and the reasons behind them.

How has animal testing helped make advancements?

One of the main advancements affected by animal testing is the world of medicine.

Animal Testing has helped medicine with things such as vaccines and transplants. Without
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animal testing medicine would not be what it is today. Vaccines play a big role in our society

today because they help humans form a stronger immune system. One these vaccines formed

through animal testing is the polio vaccination. Polio is a disease that causes paralysis and can be

fatal. In order to fix the issue of the Polio Disease in the early twentieth century Doctors like

John Enders used animals to help come up with the discovery of the treatment (Polio, 2014). It is

stated how animals played a major role in the discovery of polio vaccines, In the 1950s, after 40

years of research using mice, rats and monkeys, polio vaccines were developed and used to treat

the disease, which show how without animal testing the discovery of this vaccination would not

have been possible (Polio, 2014). Another significant vaccine produced through animal testing is

the Smallpox vaccine, which was one of the first vaccines discovered. Smallpox is a contagious

viral disease that was deadly. In the discovery of this smallpox vaccine they used cows to test

this vaccine, which eventually helped eliminate this disease (Research). Today there has yet to be

a case of smallpox thanks to the discovery of the smallpox vaccine. Animal testing is responsible

for the advancements in the making of vaccines.

Additionally, Animal testing has helped the world of medicine by helping the

advancements of transplants. Heart transplants are now successfully done because of the animal

testing that was done years ago. Researchers, Norman Shumway and Richard Lower, began

experimenting heart transplants on dogs in 1958, but were later perfected in 1967. In 1967, heart

transplants on dogs could be returned to full health following the surgery, surviving for a year or

more (Animal). Once the heart transplant was successful on a dog they moved their

achievements onto a human. Therefore, because of the heart transplants on dogs it has helped

advance heart transplants in humans as well as giving them opportunity to live a longer life.
ANIMAL TESTING RESEARCH 8

The cornea transplant is another advancement from animal testing. This transplant was

made possible by testing this experiment on mostly rabbits (Info). The cornea transplant is an

advancement that has helped humans regain their eyesight. In the article, Transplant Surgery

First Performed on a Human, It is said how, almost a century of experiments using animals,

mainly rabbitsThis first transplant surgery was performed by Austrian ophthalmologist Eduard

Zirm, who transplanted the corneas in both eyes of a man who had previously been blinded,

supports the idea that animal testing is necessary when it comes to advancements in medicine

(Info).

What Alternatives Are There to Animal Testing?

Instead of using animals to test products for humans researchers have come up with

alternatives to animal testing. The new methods used in place of animal testing are in vitro

methods, in silico models, and human volunteers. These three alternatives to animal testing are

beneficial because they are more reliable rather than using animals and are most importantly

cruelty free.

The in vitro method is a method used instead of animal testing. The vitro method is a,

sophisticated tests using human cells and tissues, which resemble the way the human organs

and organs systems work (PETA). An Example of the vitro method would be MatTeks EpiDerm,

which is an alternative to using rabbits and instead use these tissues on a stick to observe if

products are harmful to the skin. Whereas in animal testing they would use rabbits and observe

the pain they went through just to test if a product was good for human skin.

The silico models are another method that replaces animal testing. The silico model is an

advance computer-modeling technique. These computer models can accurately predict the ways

that new drugs will react in the human body, which replaces the use of animals for these tests
ANIMAL TESTING RESEARCH 9

(PETA). An example of a silico model are, Quantitative structure-activity relationships

(QSARs) are computer-based techniques that can replace animal tests by making sophisticated

estimates of a substances likelihood of being hazardous, based on its similarity to existing

substances and our knowledge of human biology, which helps spare animals pain of undergoing

these animal tests and instead use these computer models (PETA).

Another alternative to animal testing would be human volunteers. These human

volunteers are given an extremely small one-time drug dose, and sophisticated imaging

techniques are used to monitor how the drug behaves in the body, this technique is called

microdosing which eliminates the use of animals. Another human volunteer alternative would

be the use of the TraumaMan, which replicates a breathing, bleeding human torso and has

realistic layers of skin and tissue, ribs, and internal organs (PETA). The TraumaMan helps

students learn about the human body rather than using animals like cats, pigs, or frogs to cut into.

Review

Animal testing is a controversial topic with society today, but there are major factors that

play a big role on why people are for or against animal testing. Although animal testing can be

cruel to animals it has helped with medical advancements all over the world. As technology

advances there are more alternatives to animal testing than before. Animal testing is unfair to

animals, but it has helped achieve new discoveries in medicine.

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References:

A. (n.d.). Heart transplants successful in humans. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from

http://www.animalresearch.info/en/medical-advances/timeline/heart-transplants-

successful-humans/

Animal Testing. (2016, May 24). Retrieved March 25, 2017, from http://animal-

testing.procon.org/

Colon, D. (2017, March 22). Animal testing [Telephone interview].

Info, A. (n.d.). Transplant surgery first performed on a human. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from

http://www.animalresearch.info/en/medical-advances/timeline/transplant-surgery-first-

performed-human/

Klazema , A. (2014, June 13). Animal Testing Cons: What Every Person Should Know.

Retrieved March 25, 2017, from https://blog.udemy.com/animal-testing-cons/

Neavs. (n.d.). Animals in Science / Research. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from

http://www.neavs.org/research/harm-suffering

P. (n.d.). Alternatives to Animal Testing. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from

http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/alternatives-animal-testing/

Polio Vaccines. (2014, November 19). Retrieved March 25, 2017, from

http://www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk/why/human-health/polio-vaccine/

Rabbit undergoing testing [White rabbit that underwent testing]. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24,

2017, from http://www.peta.org/action/action-alerts/avon-mary-kay-estee-lauder-and-

revlon-are-paying-for-tests-on-animals/
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Research, A. (n.d.). Smallpox eradicated through vaccination. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from

http://www.animalresearch.info/en/medical-advances/timeline/smallpox-eradicated-

through-vaccination/

What the population thinks [A bar graph of animal testing]. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2017,

from http://2012.igem.org/Team:EPF-Lausanne/Human/Survey