Cruel Animal Testing | Teen Ink

Cruel Animal Testing

November 6, 2023
By Anonymous

Animal testing is wrong and should be banned everywhere. Animal testing is more commonly found in China (20.5 million animals) and the United States (15.6 million animals). But it still isn't right that harmless innocent animals have to be killed for experiments.

Animals are used in experiments; to test pain, fear, and distress. They may be kept in small cages and used for procedures that hurt them. Draize testing is one example. This is testing where chemicals are put into rabbits’ eyes to test irritation or damage to the eyes. Tobacco smoke studies are also another big procedure done on various animals that cause harm and cancer. Toxicity testing for cosmetics where makeup is being tested on animals is another. 

There are other ways to test things, such as using cells in a lab or computer. It is not always necessary to use animals for testing. In vitro testing of human cells in a lab to see substances and microdosing can be tested on human volunteers. Microdosing is giving harmless amounts of a new drug to those of the human volunteers to study the effects. Post marketing surveillance is after a drug/product is on the market a medical device from the manufacturers can monitor volunteer devices.

There is limited accuracy for humans through animal testing as animals are different from us in many ways. What is safe for them may not be safe for us.  Thalidomide tragedy was caused because thalidomide was a sedative tested on (non-pregnant) animals then later tested on humans. The animal results seemed to show that even very high doses were not harmful. However that medicine was harmful to infants (deformed them). Penicillin was also another medicine that was tested on animals. Along with thalidomide they got different results then expected. During the testing of penicillin they didn't predict allergic responses correctly. Cosmetic ingredients were also a common thing tested on animals, but animals eyes and skin do not match a human's eyes and skin.

These are only a few of the reasons why animal testing is bad, there are many other alternatives to animal testing and for this reason I think it should be banned. Taking the lives of all those millions of innocent animals is cruel.


The author's comments:

I'm a high school junior who loves animals. 


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