Animal Testing for the benefit of humans and animals

The use of animals in research (animal testing) is a controversial topic because of the
animal sacrifices involved in the experiments. The process involves performing surgeries and
experiments on the animals. Usually, scientists try to remake a certain disease in an animal and
conduct various tests on how the animal reacts to specific chemicals and gene modification. The
animals stand as a model for initial tests and if the medicine is assumed to be safe, clinical trials
in humans will then be conducted to know if it is effective or not. The process gave rise to heated
arguments between two opposing stands: those who support it and those who condemn it. This
paper, however, aims to promote and encourage the continuity of animal testing for the
betterment of science. The use of animals in research is deemed necessary because it made way
to the further advancement in medicine, health and science of not only humans but also of
animals themselves.

One of the major arguments presented by the opposition side is the contrasting effect of
some products in human and animals. A famous example is the Thalidomide, a sedative that was
popular to pregnant women who frequently experiences nausea. Thalidomide was initially tested
on animals and it was proven to be harmless. However, it was soon discovered that it causes
birth defects on pregnant women and was immediately pulled out of the market. The opposing
organizations then claimed that it is not appropriate to test on animals because they do not react
to chemicals the same way that humans do. The defect on the issue though is not about the
difference of animals and humans but the lack of exhaustive testing. Further tests in animals,
including in pregnant animals, were conducted and similar teratogenic effects were observed in
mice, rats, marmosets, baboons and hamsters. Thus, the process of animal testing itself did not
fail.

Another point raised by the opposition is the violation of the animals' rights to live a free
and peaceful life. Most pet owners and pet lovers will mindlessly express their disgust of the
animal testing while thinking of their own pets suffering. But the moment that a pet is put on the
ground with a leash attached around its neck, isn’t its very own rights to live with freedom
already violated?
 Opposition side also argues that certain alternatives are now invented, thanks to the
advancement of technology. However, these alternatives have their own limitations. Computer
modeling, an alternative which uses programs to replicate the human physiology, is not high-tech
enough to be used in observing reactions and activities in in the innermost part of the cell.
Another popular alternative is the vitro testing where samples of blood, tissue or cell are obtained
from a patient for diagnosis. But this test is also limited by the fact that virus grows differently in
distinct environment. For example, a human who has an immune system and a test tube that does
not. This factor alone can cause significant changes to the outcome of the experiment.
Furthermore, experts say that while many of the alternatives are a great help in the preliminary
phase of the research, it is still impossible today to totally replace animal testing.

Despite the protest of anti-animal testing organizations, animal testing has been
constantly providing successful cures and treatments for widespread diseases around the globe.
According to the California Biomedical Research Association, major development in the field of
medicine for the past century were outcomes from animal testing, these include cures,
antibiotics, vaccines, and surgeries. The cause of diabetes, for instance, was discovered by
removing the pancreas of a dog. Insulin, which was the result of performing experiments on
dogs, is a significant hormone made by the pancreas that balances out a diabetic patient's blood
sugar level. Polio is another worldwide disease that was took down by the vaccines produced by
animal testing. This disease causes defects in one’s nervous system- the brain and the spinal
cord, requiring patients to have a ventilator in order to breathe. 40 years of comprehensive
research on monkeys and mice is all it took for the perfect vaccine to be made. Now thanks to the
vaccine, polio was successfully eradicated from United States, Europe and other developing
countries. There had also been a massive decline of polio patients worldwide due to the
vaccination program initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO). Another major
breakthrough in the history of animal testing is the successful war against the world-killer
disease malaria. Malaria is a deadly disease caused by parasites from infected mosquitoes.
Research was conducted in birds that led to the development of anti-malaria drugs, called
chloroquine. However, a certain malaria parasite called plasmodium developed resistance to the
previous antimalarial drug. A new drug called ELQ-300, which was tested on laboratory mice, is
a more effective drug that could take down even the chloroquine resistant plasmodium parasite.
It hinders the building blocks of DNA in the plasmodium mitochondrion, successfully killing the
parasite right at its very core.

Humans are not the only ones who gain medical advancement in animal testing.
Throughout the history of animal testing, vaccines and cures for animals were also discovered
and were now being offered in veterinary clinic worldwide. During the 1970’s, a fatal disease
became viral among dogs which caused vomiting, dehydration and diarrhea. The disease called
canine parvovirus has similarities with feline panleukopenia virus, a highly contagious viral
disease among cats. A vaccine for parvovirus was then developed under the influence of feline
panleukopenia virus and was out in the market preventing further spreading of the said virus.
This resulted to immediate eradication of the virus among adult dogs in the United States. Dogs
in their first few weeks though are still vulnerable to parvovirus. But today, 5-in-1 vaccine is
given to dogs on their first two months to fight diseases like canine parvovirus, distemper, and
lepto. Animal testing also played a vital role in saving endangered species such as the California
condor, the tamarins of Brazil and the black-footed ferret. These endangered species can be
managed or maintain through artificial insemination and embryo transfer. California condor, the
largest bird in North America, can only produce an egg or two every two years, making the
reproduction rate low. Captive pregnant condor’s egg is removed and is taken care of in
incubators using artificial condor head. Studies in animals’ sexual behaviors are also conducted
and more knowledge on breeding these species are acquired.

The reason why scientists persist on using animals for research despite the available
alternatives is the great number of similarities between human and non-human animals. Animals
do not exactly replicate the whole human physiology and anatomy but the similarities outweigh
the differences. Once studied closely, it is fascinating to see that the basic muscles and bones are
congruent but they appear in different sizes and ratios. In terms of internal organs, animals share
the same organs systems with us from the respiratory, cardiovascular to nervous system. Mice,
the mostly used animal for experiments, share more than 98% DNA with human. Due to the
significant amount of similarities in structure, DNA, and chemical pathways, animals make the
best model for experiments. Thus, animal testing provides the most accurate result. Certain
medicines produced for humans can also be used to treat animals or in some cases, the medicine
is slightly altered to best suit the animal’s health.
 For a very long time, animals are used for research and experiments because it is
‘unethical’ to conduct preliminary tests in humans. That’s why models are needed, models that
are either man-made (vitro) or living organism (vivo). Conducting tests in vivo, in animals, is
preferred because it provides the most accurate model of a human being given the large amount
of similarities. Historically, animal testing proved its worth by providing significant advances in
the field of medicine- in human medicine or veterinary medicine. And animal testing still has a
lot more discoveries to offer and it would be a waste to stop it from saving millions of lives
around the globe. Today, many diseases like AIDS are still incurable. Although vaccines are still
not available, the on-going research on AIDS made remarkable progress in discovering HIV, a
related disease found among monkeys. And halting the animal testing now will hinder the
progress of the study on AIDS. As of now, animal testing is the best option that the scientists
have in order for the researches on medicine to continue moving forward.
 References

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Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. (2014). Animal Health Article: canine
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