The Cruelty of Animal Testing
During the seventies, Americans fought against animal cruelty. Animal cruelty is still a major problem in today's society. For many years we have been watching advertisements on television, then going out and buying that new shampoo, or facial cleanser that has those new revitalizing ingredients. Do we really know how the manufacturers came up with these ingredients, or the process that these products go through before they reach the supermarket or corner store shelf? During the seventies there were protests against animal testing. Through these protests animals began getting better treatment, but now it has been shoved under the carpet. Some people believe that testing on animals will help them compete in the marketplace. Consumers are constantly demanding new and exciting ingredients in their products. Animal tests are often considered the easiest and cheapest way to "prove" the new ingredients are "safe". Companies also can use the fact that their products were tested to help defend themselves from and in lawsuits. Most Americans apparently would find it a great legal and philosophical stretch to grant animals the same rights as humans. 20 percent donate to animal welfare organizations. A large majority, nearly 70 pe
"Paralytic polio could be dealt with only by preventing the irreversible destruction of the large number of motor nerve cells, and the work on prevention was delayed by an erroneous conception of the nature of the human disease based on misleading experimental models of the disease in monkeys". Since rat saliva is not all that different to humans. At the end of the tests the rats are killed and their jaws cut off so their teeth can be viewed under a microscope. This is how most toothpastes today are tested. There are so many tests out their that are inhumane and can have devastating effects. The Uterotrophic Response Assay is used to detect Endocrine Disrupting Compounds. This test examines the weight of accessory sex glands and muscles in rats exposed to the test chemical. This test is unreliable because the amount of estrogen in the diet can make the uteri more or less responsive to the drug influencing the results. There is no standard diet that scientists use. Rats also have great variability. Rats have statistically significant differences in the uteri of untreated control animals. Only the uteri in rats are examined and the many other tissues that could be affected by the drug are ignored. This test is very time consuming and expensive(Kelsey & Parker, 165). Rats are also used to determine the Carcinogenicity of Fluoride. Approximately 520 rats and 520 mice are given daily doses of the drug for two years. It doesn't effect a single mouse, but in rats it can cause health problems such as cancer of the mouth and bone(PETA, tests). rcent, according to some polls, approves of animal research, particularly if it advances medical sciences. The Congress of Technology Assessment estimates scientists use 17-22 million vertebrate animals a year in research, including 15 million rats and mice; 60,000 primates; 180,000 dogs, and 50,000 cats(Dietrich, A1). Animal testing comes in many different forms. Another common test done on animals is the Acute Toxicity test, or otherwise known as the lethal dose or poisoning tests. These tests are used to determine the amount of a substance that will kill a percentage, even up to 100 percent of a group of animals. A substance is forced by tube into their throats. It may also be injected into the skin, into a vein, or into the lining of the abdomen, mixed into lab chow, inhaled through a mask; or introduced into the eyes(PETA, tests). These experiments observe the animals reactions which can include convulsions, labored breathing, diarrhea, constipation, emaciation, skin eruptions, abnormal posture and also bleeding from the eyes, nose, and mouth. The most widely used lethal dose is 50(LD50) tests were developed in 1927(PETA, tests). The LD50 testing period continues until at least 50 percent of the animals die, usually 2-4 weeks. Like Eye Irritancy tests, Lethal Dose tests are unreliable at best. Rodger D. Curren of Microbiological Associates says, Rats and mice are not the only animals that are tested. Most of the cruelest tests are done on rabbits. Rabbits eyes are used to test the toxicity of cosmetics and cleaners. These Eye Irritancy Tests are extremely cruel to the rabbits. A liquid, flake, granule, or powdered substance is dropped into the eyes of a group of albino rabbits. These animals are often immobilized in stocks from which only their heads protrude. They usually receive no anesthesia during the tests. After placing the substance in the rabbits eye tissue, at specific intervals over an average period of 72 hours, with some tests lasting eighteen days. The rabbit's reactions include swollen eyelids, inflamed issues, ulceration, bleeding, massive deterioration, and blindness. During the tests rabbits eyelids are held open with clips. Many animals break their necks as the struggle to escape. If scientists would have used information from humans we would have had a polio vaccine much quicker and fewer animals would have died. There is no
Some common words found in the essay are:
, Medical Center, Giani Flemmish, Uterotrophic Response, Albert Sabin, Acute Toxicity, Purina Mills, Irritancy Tests, Associates Researchers, Disrupting Compounds, animal tests, animal testing, products animals, tested animals, animal cruelty, animal welfare, lethal dose, toms maine, mice rats, polio vaccine, exposed test chemical, uterotrophic response assay, animal welfare act, oral polio vaccine, eyes test toxicity,
Approximate Word count = 2764
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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