Drug Testing on Animals. Using

¶ … drug testing on animals. Using animals for drug testing and development may have had a purpose at one time, but with advances in science and technology, it no longer has a place in modern drug development techniques. Using animals in drug testing is cruel, and it should be outlawed.

Many people and federal agencies condone the use of animal testing because they maintain it helps save lives. For example, the "FDA's position on animal testing is straightforward and consistent: The use of animal tests by industry to establish the safety of regulated products is necessary to minimize the risks from such products to humans."

However, over the years, this position has been modified because of the outcry of many citizens who believe animal testing is cruel and abusive, and it should be stopped. Modern research indicates there are many other ways to accomplish drug testing without harming animals.

As we learn more about diseases and illness, it is becoming clearer that many health concerns can be aided by behavior modification. One writer states, "Improvement in health is likely to come in the future, as in the past, from modification of the conditions that lead to disease, rather than from intervention in the mechanism of disease after it has occurred."

Many conditions today have their origins in diet and lifestyle, such as high cholesterol, adult-onset diabetes, and others. Scientists urge diet and exercise changes to help these diseases, and animal testing does not need to occur in these cases. Research and scientific thought will surely find more causes such as these in the future, lessening the need for animal testing at all.

Another important argument against using animals in drug testing is the results. Most animals react far differently to diseases and drugs than humans do. One author notes, "Research results are relevant only to the species under tests and concern for the risk of misleading predictions, since humans and animals often respond quite differently to drugs and disease." Thus, using animals in testing may actually skew the results, and the drugs may not be as effective as first thought, or they might be too potent.

Finally, many animal tests have been eliminated because they have been shown to be ineffective, or new ways of testing have been adopted. These new testing procedures have come about as more and more people take a stand on animal testing. Drugs do not need to be tested on animals when there are other ways of accomplishing the same goals. There are even books published with medical alternative for animal testing, which indicates how many scientists hope to accomplish their work without using animals, which indicates they do not believe in it.

Some companies are relying far less on animal testing and turning to genetic testing for finer tuned results in special cases. For example, genetic testing has been used to develop several specialized cancer drugs for very specific diseases, such as leukemia and lung cancer. Genetic testing is much more accurate than animal testing, and can be used in very specific cases. Many believe genetic testing is the wave of the future, and could someday permanently and effectively replace animal testing.