Animal Rights Essay, Research Paper
English 103
Paper #1 Animal Rights
An Argument For Animal Research
Medicine has come a very long way since the days
when men used to puncture holes into the skull to
release tension or evil spirits. In the last one
hundred years, for the sake of humanity, numerous
vaccinations have been developed, disease and disorders
of all types have been prevented, surgical techniques
have been advanced, drugs have been developed to cure
ailments and the list continues endlessly. The
progress that has been achieved in knowledge as well as
safety in medical practice is correlated directly to
animal research. It is one argument to control animal
research so that needless death of animals are not
rendered, but it is absolutely different to argue that
animals have rights which supersede human subsistence.
“For most of the past decade, the animal-rights
movement hasn’t merely opposed animal research; it has
tried to destroy it.” ( The Wall Street Journal,
“Animals and Sickness”, Page 378.) Animal rights
advocates and activists generally have ethical
objections regarding treatment of animals during
experimentation, but the use of animals in research for
the benefit of all people is and always will be
justifiable.
Over 99 percent of all animal experiments are on
rats and mice developed expressly for laboratory use.
“Less than 1 percent of experiments involve cats, dogs,
farm animals, nonhuman primates, frogs, fish, and
birds.” ( Encyclopedia of Medicine, AMA, “Animal
Experimentation”, Page 110.) Animal rights advocates
try to sway public opinion by showing grotesque
pictures of destroyed cats, dogs, farm animals,
dolphins, and monkeys which account for less than 1
percent of the experiments, yet it seems 99 percent of
their advertising and campaigning deal with this one
percent. At least the American public realizes even
those who portray ethical righteousness can be wrong.
For instance, ” an American Medical Association ( AMA )
poll found that 77 percent of adults think that using
animals in medical research is necessary.” ( The Wall
Street Journal, “Animals and Sickness”, Page 378.)
It is a curious thing to see animal welfare groups
try to hinder animal research by threatening
researchers lives and destroying years of data
collected. Animal rights groups are promoting even
more animal testing because the same tests will have to
be repeated to replace the lost data. In every major
medical research university there have been some form
of nuisance to deter animal testing whether it was a
quiet riot or endangering the lives of researchers.
Animal rights groups must realize research is done
out of necessity for human welfare. Whenever possible
alternatives to animal experiments are used. “The
development of modern research techniques, such as CAT
scans, PET scans, needle biopsies, and tissue cultures”
( Stephen Kaufman, M.D., Breakthroughs Don’t Require
Torture, Page 380.) allow researchers to thoroughly
exhaust their options before testing on animals. In
this age where fiscal conservatism is a priority even
when human lives are concerned, researchers are doing
their part to conserve. It takes a lot of time, money,
and care to take care of animals that are going to be
subjects of tests. “No responsible scientist would
incur the substantial expense and devote the
considerable space required for housing and caring of
animals when other equally satisfactory models were
available.” (Michael E. DeBackey, Holding Human Health
Hostage, Page 361.)
Contributions resulting from animal research are
too numerous to mention. All that can be said is
without testing and researching on animals human lives
would have been lost, medical technology would have
been tremendously delayed, and future breakthroughs
will be nearly impossible. When we consider the
diseases that used to terrorize our society 100 or even
50 years ago, its a blessing to realize animals are
similar to humans in biology; That we can confirm
studies of medical and surgical methods before it is
carried out on people. Animal research saves lives.