“When she first met her rescuer, the emaciated dog crawled on her belly, longing for affection but too terrified to stand up. Known only as the number tattooed on her ear, she was sick with hookworms, tapeworms, and a vaginal infection, and her teeth were rotted.

Libby, as she would soon be named, was one of nearly 250 dogs and cats rescued last fall from animal testing hellhole Professional Laboratory and Research Services, Inc. after it shut down following a PETA investigation. Pharmaceutical companies paid the laboratory to infest dogs and cats with worms, fleas, and ticks and then force-feed them or smear their skin with toxic chemicals in tests for companion-animal products.” (PETA 1)
Animal testing brings many consequences that not everyone is aware of.  Animal testing began long ago when animals were used to study biology.  After that, animal testing developed to the point where millions of animals are tested on every year.  Every year many animals are poisoned, blinded and even killed from the harsh testing they experience.  Millions of animals across the country are locked in cages and are suffering.  It is time that more people begin to learn how cruel animal testing really is.  While it may seem to some that animal testing is beneficial to the lives of humans, it is actually true that animal testing is cruel and inhumane and that there are alternative methods. 

Some people believe that animal testing can help benefit and save the lives of humans.  It is true that animal testing has helped contribute to a lot of life saving cures and treatments.  One cannot disregard that animal testing has helped with many medical advances and has helped benefit the lives of both humans and animals.  However, there are alternative methods such as human skin equivalent systems, computer models, simulations, micro dosing where humans are given a small amount of something to see what effects it has and there are more.  It has been said that animals are better for testing because of their short lifespan and because of the fact that animals don’t have rights.  That does not have to be true because it has been shown that there are other ways to test products and animals don’t have to be used as test subjects. 

Scientific and commercial animal testing is obviously very harmful to animals, but can also be harmful to humans too. While some animal tests are effective on animals, they can have a very negative effect on humans. Animals and humans have very similar characteristics, but the tests can react very differently depending on the test subject.  Animals and humans have very different characteristics also. If a test benefits an animals, it still has potential to be harmful on a human.  Although animals have shorter life spans, testing on humans or other alternative methods could provide more accurate data making the testing more reliable. While it may seem that animal testing is the safest way to test drugs to save the lives of humans, it is true that medical breakthroughs have happened without the use of animals.

Certainly the use of animal testing has been very beneficial to humans, but it has done as much harm as it has good. The differences between animals and humans can play a significant role to the testing. Sometimes what is being tested works only on the animals and is then harmful to the humans, providing very inaccurate data. More importantly, there are other alternative methods other than animal testing. The data found when drugs tested in labs, has been found to be just as accurate as the data provided from the testing of the animals. So why would we test and harm animals when there are many other methods that work just as well?

Animals should not be used for scientific or commercial testing.  There are plenty of other alternative methods that can be used without the use of animals or humans. Multiple consequences could be avoided if we put an end to animal testing.  The lives of many animals could be saved and products could still be tested without harming or affecting anyone.  Everyone should work together to help stop animal testing in the United States.

Works Cited
Animal Testing 101." PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2015.
Animal Testing - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2015.
"BENEFITS." Pro-Test: Standing up for Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2015.
In Testing | Alternatives to Animal Testing and Research." In Testing | Alternatives to Animal Testing and Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2015.