Medical Testing on Animals

Essay by tony325High School, 12th gradeA+, March 2004

download word file, 3 pages 4.0

Every year, nearly 100 million animals die in research

laboratories at the hands of curious scientists who perform outdated

and inaccurate tests that prove no benefit to humans or animals.

Before these animals die, they are routinely burned, scalded,

poisoned, starved, given electric shocks, addicted to drugs, subjected

to near freezing temperatures, dosed with radioactive elements, driven

insane, deliberately inflicted with diseases such as cancer, diabetes,

oral infections, stomach ulcers, Syphilis, herpes, and AIDS. Their

eyes are surgically removed; their brains and spinal cords damaged,

and their bones broken. The usage of anesthesia is not mandated by

law, and consequently, thus is rarely administered. Despite all of

this cruelty, not a single disease has been cured through vivisection

in this century. The overall adult cancer rate has risen in the past

40 years and a fatal heart attack strikes a person every 45 seconds.

The Centers for Disease Control estimate that 70-80% of the common

diseases killing Americans are preventable given a responsible diet

and lifestyle.

Drug testing on animals is inaccurate and does not

benefit humans or animals at all. Animals including, but not limited

to, dogs, cats, mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, rhesus

monkeys, imported primates, owls, deer, sheep, llama, and cattle are

commonly used for vivisection. Vivisection is the medical term for

the practice of experimenting on animals. Charles River Breeding

Laboratories, a company owned by Bausch and Lomb, provides 40-50% of

the animals used in experiments of laboratories. The other remainig

misfortunate animals come from places a little closer to you and me.

Some of them come from animal shelters, some come from the "free to

good home" ads in the classified section of the newspaper, some from

unsuspecting people who allow their companion animals to become

pregnant, or even worse, some have...