Manguso, Catherine

Professor Holly Batty

English 28

1 May 2017

That shade of lipstick doesnt look good on you; or that rabbit

Each year in the United States it is estimated approximately 26 million live animals are

used for testing. Various tests are performed on animals for human research, including medical

research for vaccinations and medications. We also have commercial testing which includes

testing animals for cosmetics, household cleaning products, pesticides, industrial chemicals and

more. Although many of these researchers report and document the pros through animal

research, many argue this testing is not necessary. Animals are caged and subjected to the

constant poking and prodding involved in the research. It entails tortuous testing daily which is

cruel and stressful for the animal and causes a lot of fear. The animals feel the pain, stress, and

fear just like humans do along with other emotions such as satisfaction and excitement. However

the majority of animals used in testing die from being killed during the tests and are euthanized

after the experiments.

The majority of animals used for research, education, and testing are rats and mice.

Guinea pigs, hamsters, dogs, cats, rabbits, nonhuman primates, and other animals are studied as

well. Rats and mice are bred specifically for research and about half of the dogs and cats in

research are also bred for the same reason, with many coming from shelters and pounds.

Researchers also use animal dealers as the primary source for the rest. Dealers must be licensed

by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and must adhere to the Animal Welfare Act
standards of care. Animal testing is also taught and practiced in biology classes in elementary

school all the way through graduate programs where students dissect frogs and earthworms. This

type of animal testing is also used for advanced training in surgical techniques for veterinary and

medical students.

Animal testing is incredibly cruel and has been a heated debate for decades as animals are

kept in cages which clearly violates the animals right to live without suffering and pain or

emotional distress. Animal experiments are not limited to just poking or prodding, animals can

be cut, burned, poisoned, turned into alcoholics or drug addicts, given diseases such as cancer or

arthritis, crippled, blinded, starved, and brain damaged. Most of the time the animals are denied

any pain relief because of the fear of the effect of these tests and experiments. Animals feel pain

in many of the same ways that humans do; in fact, their reactions t pain are virtually identical

(both humans and animals scream for example). When animals are used for product toxicity

testing or laboratory research, they are subjected to painful and frequently deadly experiments.

(www.lonestar.edu/stopanimaltesting.btm) Think about that lipstick or mascara you have to

have; think about the process of its manufacture.

Two of the most commonly used toxicity tests are the Draize test and the LD50 test,

both of which are infamous for the intense pain and suffering they inflect upon experimental

animals. In the Draize test the substance or product being tested is placed in the eyes of an

animal (generally a rabbit is used for this test); then the animal is monitored for damage to the

cornea and other tissues near the eye. This test is intensely painful for the animal, and blindness,

scarring and death are generally the end results. The Draize test has been criticized for being

unreliable and a needless waste of an animals life. The LD50 test is used to test the dosage of a

substance that is necessary to cause death in fifty percent of the animal subjects within a certain
amount of time. To perform this test, the researchers hook the animals up to tubes that pump

huge amounts of the test product into their stomachs until they die. This test is extremely painful

to the animals because death can take days or even weeks. According to Orlans, the animals

suffer from vomiting, diarrhea, paralysis, convulsion, and internal bleeding. Since death is

required endpoint, dying animals are not put out of their misery by euthanasia( 154). In his

article entitled Time to Reform Toxic Tests, Michael Bals, a professor of medical cell biology

at the University of Nottingham and chairman of the trustees of FRAME( the Fund for the

Replacement of Animals in Animals in Medical Experiments), states that the LD50 test is

scientifically unjustifiable. The precision it purports to provide is an illusion because of

uncontrollable biological variables (31). The use of the Draize test and the LD50 test examine

product toxicity has decreased over the past few years, but these

tests have not been eliminated completely. Thus, because animals are subjected to agonizing

pain, suffering and death when they are used in laboratory and cosmetic testing, animal research

must be stopped to prevent more waste of animal life.

(www.lonestar.edu/stopanimaltesting.btm)

Many would argue that we need to continue with animal testing. Some believe animal

research aids finding drugs and treatments to improve health and medicine. Treatments for

cancer and HIV drugs, insulin, antibiotics, vaccines and many more treatments have been made

possible through animal testing. Drugs can have significant dangers and testing allows

researchers to initially gauge the safety of drugs prior to trails on humans. They feel harm is

reduced to the human, along with saving humans life as well as improving the quality of ones

life. Some believe it would be immoral to research and experiment on humans so animals take

their place in such experiments.

 Animals and humans are not exactly the same; therefore reactions to drugs will not

always be the same. Some alternatives to the use of animals in testing include in vitro (test tube)

test methods and models based on human cell and tissue cultures. Computer models and

simulations, computerized patient-drug data base and virtual drug trials are also used as well as

stem cell and genetic testing methods, no-invasive imaging techniques such as MRIs and CT

Scans, and microdosing (in which humans are given low quantities of a drug to test the effect on

the body on the cellular level, without affecting the whole body system).

Not only are animals cells used without consent, but humans too, as noted in the

Henrietta Lacks research, when a slice was taken from her cancerous tumor of her cervix back in

1951 and has been used without her knowledge; worldwide for many different research projects.

(Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Broadway Books, 2011)

In conclusion, animal testing is cruel and you can make a difference by choosing to

support companies that support alternative methods besides animal testing on their products,

look for the words cruelty free or not tested on animals.

Works Cited

Using Animals for Testing; Pros Versus Cons. Using Animals for testing: Pros Versus Cons,

www.aboutanimaltesting.co.uk/using-animals-testing-pro-versus-cons.html. Accessed 18 Apr.

2017

Save the Animals: Stop Animal Testing. Lonestar College. N.p,2017. Web. 18Apr.2017

www.lonestar.edu/stopanimaltesting.htm.

Skloot Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Broadway Books, 2011.