Torture an Animal? While Many People Believe

¶ … Torture an Animal?

While many people believe that animal testing is inhumane, many others see it as an important part of preserving human life. In my opinion, animal testing, due to the harsh nature of the process, should only be conducted if it is necessary to advance science and technology that may help save lives.

If I were working in a research lab and was involved in the development of a revolutionary skin graft that would save lives, I would definitely support animal testing for the product. In this case, animal testing would be a necessary process in testing the effects of the new development.

Without animal testing, this development would not be approved by the government. As a result, millions of lives would be affected, especially those of accident victims that may be saved by the skin graft.

While I am against torturing animals to test products like lipstick and shampoo, I am convinced that animal testing has greatly advanced the medical field. Many researchers have used animals to test products that have saved millions of lives. In addition, the world's quality of life has been vastly improved as a result of these tests.

For example, without the use of animals in medical testing, we may never have gotten access to cures for rabies, measles and tuberculosis. Our scientists may have never gained a firm understanding of how the brain works. In addition, millions of people would have died, as open-heart surgery and heart valve replacement were both developed using animal testing.

As a research worker, my main concern, when developing the skin graft, would be the validity and safety of the development. Animal testing would be necessary in determining side effects or possible problems. If animals were not used to test this new development, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to determine how it would affect humans. I would not feel comfortable sending the product to hospitals if it was not thoroughly tested and I know that the government would not approve it.

Serious injury, worsening of health condition, severe defects, or even death could be caused by an untested development. To prevent this from happening, the research department should use the minimal number of animal to test the skin graft.

I would want to be a major part of the animal testing, rather than pass the responsibility to a laboratory technician. By taking a significant role in the process, I would ensure that the department used as few animals as possible and took all precautions necessary to make the process painless for the animals used.