Trosclair 1 Javon Trosclair Professor Cherity Cook ENG 101-02 October 5, 2012 Animal Research, Is it Truly Unethical?

Lots of controversy has been brought up regarding animals in research and development. Animal research, also known as animal testing, is one of the biggest concerns for our time. Agencies such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have protested in effort to try and close down animal testing facilities (Animal Testing). Animal testing is very important to the welfare of humans. It is used to prevent medications from harming or even killing humans who use them. One may even say that animal testing has resulted in the saving of over a thousand lives. Animal research has also been used to find traits in animals DNA which could benefit humans. Through animal testing, we have discovered cures for diseases such as leprosy by studying armadillos (Medical Advances and Animal Research: The Contribution of Animal Science to the Medical Revolution : Some Case Histories. ). This testing has also been used in modifying foods. Modifying foods has raised concerns in the public such as genetic mutations that could be developed as a result of such tampering with produce. This and many other concerns have left animal research in the gray area of accepted things by the world. However, is it truly being used in an unethical way or is it just misunderstood? While some people do misuse animal testing and harm animals, the basic necessity for it continues to grow. Laws and other policies have been put in place to give animals more rights and protection against those who seek to harm them. Animal testing, while extremely controversial, is essential to the betterment of mankind. Animals have been used in research for years. From the ancient Egyptians to the Romans animals have played a pivotal role in the development of modern medicine. Philosophers have used animal testing to better understand the world and how everything was connected. For the Greeks,

Trosclair 2 Aristotle used animal research to discover differences in animal's anatomy. Aristotle's predecessor, Erasistratus, is believed to be the first to perform experiments with living animals (Animal Testing). Their research, along with others, has led to many advances in the field of medicine. If it wasn't for the practice of the early philosophers, we may not have not have things such as stethoscopes, biology, or physiology. Through these great inventions, we have grown to know more about the world and the way people function all though the use of animal research. Animal research has been essential to most of the world's medical advancements, especially vaccinations. For example, in the early 18th century, smallpox plagued most of the European countries. These disease caused thousands of deaths including kings and queens. Smallpox would still be a problem now if it wasn't for the use of animals in research. Through animal research, a cure was discovered by studying cows. Most people believe that animal research deal mostly with non-human primates, however, non-human primates are the least used for animal research. Most testing is done on animals such as mice, pigs and even dogs. For those who struggle with diabetes, for example, insulin research was discovered by studying dogs and fish. Another advancement from animal research is open-heart surgery and pacemaker development. This was discovered in 1956 by studying dogs (Medical Advances and Animal Research: The Contribution of Animal Science to the Medical Revolution : Some Case Histories. ). Animal research has also been used in psychological test. Psychologist use mice and labs rats to symbolize the cognition of humans. The list goes on in ways that animal research has benefited mankind. If it wasn't for the use of animals in research, some of these diseases may not have been cured. Even with this evidence, some people still don't accept animal research as an appropriate method of medical prevention of disease. They believe animals are not an appropriate match to model a human's anatomy. However, biology classes in high school, used pigs and frogs to dissect and discover how simple organs in the body are structured. In many medical based cases, animals are

Trosclair 3 the preferred mode of testing. Some people believe the only reason people use this as an excuse is because animals are more expendable than humans. Animals aren't able to give consent and therefore are easy to use in a laboratory. However, that was not the purpose of animals to be used in research. Animals are easier to maintain, and though animal testing, it is easier to control large animal populations and keep the ecosystem from falling apart. Many organizations and activist find this to be a slap in the face of animal rights. For this reason, policies have been put in place to protect the rights of animal and hopefully prevent any misuse of animal research. One of the first to be passed was the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The AWA was passed on August 24, 1966 by President Johnson (Sikes, 831). It is the only federal law the regulates the treatment, use, and transportation of animals used for research in the laboratory. This law was created due to the poor conditions a dog dealer kept their animals in Maryland. This raised concern from the American public that caused Congress to get involved personally. The AWA has, from that point, on been monitored and enforced by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and the Senate. Other countries have also passed Animal Welfare Acts such as New Zealand in 1999, the UK in 2006, and as recently as India in 2011. This shows that people are concerned for the well-being of animals in research. This also adds evidence to the claim that animal research is well managed and protected. Other publications such as the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animal, also known as the Guide, have been used to regulate the use of animals in the lab (Sikes, 830). This guide was designed to be used for biomedical research and was later used for all vertebrates in research experiments. It was used for aquatic vertebrates and other microorganisms. While the Guide works well with biomedical research, it didn't provide much use in the nature environment. It is for this reason that multiple acts, such as the AWA, were published showing that animal safety and welfare were of the utmost importance to scientist in their research field. This still was not enough for animal

Trosclair 4 rights activist. They demanded that more action be taken. Animal rights activist decided to take matters into their own hands. In 1980, Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco formed People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). PETA has become a major organization in the world today. The main goal of PETA is to get people to resist anything that harms animals including eating meat, buying fur, and especially animal testing. In fact, a lot of people in PETA are vegans who refuse to use a product that involved the harm of an animal in any way. PETA has also been known to be very radical. To support their I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur campaign, they marched around China nude to protest the fur industry (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). PETA's impact on the world has been strong, but their efforts can not stop the use of animal research. Animal research is the backbone of medical research. PETA's claim that animals have been abused is credible and should be looked into, but their claim that animal research is a waste of time is a misunderstanding of animal research's importance. PETA did, however, bring up important ethical concerns. One of those concerns is military testing. The military has for years been using animals in testing of things such as drug testing, nerve testing, and weapons. The downside to animal research is when they are used for warfare. The most recent test on animals are the tests performed with nerve-agents. The military used african green monkeys and injected them with nerve-blocking agents to simulate a nerve gas attack. The test was used to prepare military medical personal to take care of soldiers affected by chemical attacks (Vastag). This type of testing was highly frowned upon by animals rights groups. As stated in the Washington Post on October 13, 2011, the army has agreed to stop testing nerve-agents on animals, a process that has been in use since 2005. This decision came as the result of the continuous pressure from activist groups and even members of Congress. This testing was one of the darker times of animal research and shows that it has been abused, but this issue still has been dealt with. Animal research does have it's

Trosclair 5 flaws, but it still pushes a convincing argument for why it should still be use. Even someone as powerful as the army can be controlled when using animals in research, doesn't that give even more incentive that animal testing can be controlled without completely shutting it down. Animal research has met each ethical claim and has been able to prove that it can be used in moderation to protect the animals that are used. However, still even this measure was not enough for animal rights activist that want full animal liberation. To please the ever growing activist population, animal research was given alternates to be used instead of live animals. Most scientist agree that animal suffering should be limited. To limit the use of animals, scientist created the three Rs method (Animal Testing). The three Rs contains three simple main ways to eliminate the suffering of animals: replacement, reduction, and refinement. Replacement is using another create or object in the place of the test subject. Since mammals share a similar immune system with insects, some scientists have moved to using insects in their studies (Animal Testing). Reduction is the act of using few animals and getting more information from an animal they are already working on. Refinement take the animals already in use and lowers the chance of pain and suffering. Either way, the scientific community has taken precautions to prevent animals from getting hurt. All that remains is deciding on which side you will stand. Sooner or later, we all will have to come to terms with the reality that we will have to choose between the lives of animals or the lives of humans. Animal testing has been involved in nearly every major medical advancement. Animal research has played a huge rule in developing vaccinations and surgical procedures. It helps us better understand how humans anatomy is compare to other mammals. Animal research also helps us find traits in animals that can help us increase our survival chances. Although many animal rights groups have tried to shut it down, animal research prevails to be the leader in medical activity. It has many ethical concerns and has been abused in the past, but with the protection laws and policies that have

Trosclair 6 been set in place, animals are being kept safe. Don't allow this important aspect of our history to be lost by ignorance. Be sure to do your research before you jump to conclusions.

Trosclair 7 Work Cited "Animal Testing." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Mar. 2012. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_testing>. Medical Advances and Animal Research: The Contribution of Animal Science to the Medical Revolution : Some Case Histories. [Great Britain]: RDS, 2007. Print. "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Apr. 2012. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_for_the_Ethical_Treatment_of_Animals>. Sikes, Robert S., Ellen Paul, and Steven J. Beaupre. "Standards for Wildlife Research: Taxon-Specific Guidelines versus US Public Health Service Policy." BioScience 62.9 (2012): 830-34. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. Vastag, Brian. "Army to Phase out Use of Animal Nerve-agent Testing." The Washington Post. N.p., 13 Oct. 2011. Web. 27 Sept. 2012. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/armyagrees-to-phase-out-use-of-animal-nerve-gas-testing/2011/10/13/gIQA1p1PiL_story.html>.