Editorial: Animal Testing

Essay by sammayy17High School, 12th grade January 2009

download word file, 1 pages 3.0

"...[U]sing animals as models for humans in the laboratory and classroom is both morally unacceptable and scientifically flawed" (National Anti-Vivisection Society).

An issue that I am passionate about is cosmetic animal testing. I believe this a very barbaric and inhumane way to test the harmful factors of a product. The way that technology is advancing everyday offers alternatives that are a more humane way to test. One possible example is to publicly advertise for people to either volunteer or get paid in order for laboratories to test their products. Animals may be subjected to extreme pain, deprivation and distress when put into the conditions needed to test on them. Cosmetic animal testing is a cruel alternative to that of doing actual research and finding out what products truly bother humans. If scientists could find a way to discover what ingredients people react negatively to, there would be no need to test on animals.

Cosmetic animal testing is done for eye shadows and soaps. The majority of these eye shadow tests are done on rabbits in order to assess the level of damage or irritation caused to the rabbits. Sunscreen products are tested on guinea pigs to assess the level of allergic reaction and irritation. These cosmetic tests could cause bleeding problems to the animals. Many reputed companies employ outside companies to avoid criticism from society and activists. Statistics point out that 50% of the animals die two to three weeks after experimentation (clearleadinc.com).

One way to utilize animals to help humans is in the medical field. The animals used for this type of testing are called "Pharm" animals. For example, some sheep carry a gene for a human blood protein, which they secrete in their milk. This protein inhibits an enzyme that contributes to lung disease in...