In
the article, “Animal Research” by Sarah Rose A. Miller, she takes her readers
through the reality of what takes place in the research labs. Miller starts off
with saying that many people are undecided on what side to take when talking
about animal testing because either way, many lives are taken away (15). Animals
are burned, cut open, forced to inhale toxic air, and live in constant
isolation. Animal research may be bad; however, it has helped a lot with
biomedical research that can find a lot of cures to diseases (15). According to
Miller, scientists and physicians have not taken a serious approach to finding
alternatives to animal research.
The
Draize Test and the LD-50 (Lethal Dose 50 Percent) Test are the top two tests
performed on animals. Both tests leave animals in pain and misery. About half
of the animals end up dead and the remaining animals that are still alive are
killed afterwards (15). The National Institutes of Health provided financial
information of numerous projects that were not beneficial at all. Occasionally,
when animals are distressed, the tests may become disrupted due to a decreased
brain activity and the mental state of the animal (16). Animals are normally
stuck in small steel cages with no comfort or attention. One of the ways to
enhance the results of the tests is to make the living environments more
comfortable.
We just learned about animal testing in Psych, they say that there are in fact rules and regulations to the research that can be done on animals, but to tell you the truth I honestly don't see rules being enforced. The cast studies that we read and learned about on animal studies are sickening. I understand that it does help with medicine and things of that nature, but at some point scientists have to take a step back and realize the damage they are doing.
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