Animals Essays (Examples)

Animal Testing Statistics

In research, reports, and activism efforts, statistics are often used to strengthen a specific cause or viewpoint. The challenge, particularly from the viewpoint of the reader, is that many of these statistics, while not inaccurately quoted, tend to be taken out of context. This creates an inaccurate focus that was unintended when the statistics were created in the first place. This phenomenon is clear in the guest post by Robin Lovell-Badge (2013) where the author makes a claim about the accuracy of quoting animal testing statistics to strengthen the cause against such testing on animals.

What particularly surprised me about the post is the explanation of the usefulness of animal testing in developing medicines. There appears to be a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of animal testing among animal activists who would have these terminated. While most drugs tested on animals fail to make it to the…

Animal Experience - Abstract

Though Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Wyatt, 2011) is classified in the Sci-Fi genre, this film portrays the reasonably foreseeable possibility of intelligent apes successfully revolting against humankind. The main character, Caesar, is a chimpanzee injected with an experimental Alzheimer's-treatment drug that surprisingly develops Caesar's humanlike intelligence and emotions. Though initially well-treated by the drug's inventor and a primatologist, Caesar is eventually relegated to an ape sanctuary, where he grows to resent the cruel conditions to which apes are subjected. As a result, a defiant Caesar administers the same experimental drug to other apes, creating an ape army that escapes from the sanctuary, wages war on Homo sapiens and eventually crosses the Golden Gate Bridge as humans are decimated by a deadly virus.

In its depiction of the intelligent apes' interactions with humans, the film explores at least three scientifically supported human/animal experiences. First,…

Trakr, a retired police K-9 heard the call for help as well, and came to the Trade Center rescuers' aid.

When they heard about the disaster at the World Trade Center, Trakr and his owner, Constable Jamie Symington of the Halifax Regional Police, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, hopped in their car and drove 14 hours to New York City.

They worked tirelessly from Wednesday morning through Friday, when Trakr collapsed from exhaustion (Adelman). Another example of how rescuers both human and pawed refused to give up, until they physically couldn't go any longer.

Perhaps one of the saddest losses of canine heroes was Servus, a highly trained Belgian Malnois. This brave boy died in the arms of his handler of lung injuries, attributed to the World Trade Center site, a year and a half after his rescue efforts. Chris Christensen, Servus' handler, recalled that Servus had refused to stay in…

4). Singer references the essay in the book by Richard Ryder, who criticizes (with great justification) animal experiments ("now a large industry"). Of course there have been laws passed in the U.S. Congress subsequent to when this book was published, laws that provide guidelines for any animal research, but Ryder provides Singer with some gruesome experiments on animals and Singer reports them in his essay.

How moral is a company or organization or university when it injects chemicals into the brains of cats? At the National Institute for Medical Research in London they did just that, and while it is doubtful they could get away with such cruelty in 2011, they certainly did then. The injection into the brain of a cat with a large does of "Tubocuraine" caused the cat to jump into its cage and start calling "noisily whilst moving about restlessly and jerkily… jerking in rapid clonic…

The Heifer, the Goat, and the Sheep, in Company With the Lion illustrates the absolute power of the feudal lord (the lion) over the peasantry (the goat and sheep). This fable may be referring to the division of taxes and possessions, or it may be a direct reference to the hunting rights of feudal lords. The feudal lord (lion) declares that a stag killed by the goat is his, by the right of the strong.

Again, as the bravest, the third must be mine.

To touch but the fourth whoso makes a sign,

I'll choke him to death

In the space of a breath!" (Shapiro, p. 9).

This attitude represents the attitudes of the wealthy towards the peasantry. They would rather see them dead than share even a small portion of their wealth with them. This fable is where the phrase "a lions' share" originates (Shapiro, p. 9). A similar…

animal testing. The writer argues that animal testing is a necessity and that alternative testing is not as effective. There were four sources used to complete this paper.

Throughout the years there have been many groups who have protested using animals for the purpose of testing products. These products include medical products, consumer products and research for cures and discoveries about illnesses and disorders. The groups who protest the use of animals say that it is cruel to use them for the tests when alternative methods could be found. While alternative methods have been developed for many types of testing the use of animals for testing must still be embraced. Alternative testing methods have not proven themselves to be as reliable as animal testing.

Those who oppose animal testing believe that it is inhumane treatment of living things. Over the years there have been hotly debated arguments over the use…

Animal Liberation: A Triangular Affair

In his essay "Animal Liberation: A Triangular Affair," J. Baird Callicott discusses the animal liberation movement in relation to Aldo Leopold's "land ethic" as a means of demonstrating that although the two strains of thought appear at first glance to share more than a passing similarity, when considered more closely, the theoretical and practical underpinnings of animal liberation and environmental ethics are so fundamentally different that the two may ultimately be considered contradictory. These contradictions result in the "triangular affair" the title refers to, because Callicott determines that the animal liberation movement is not only locked in a conflict with conservative philosophizers maintaining a fundamental break between humans and animals, but also with environmental ethicists who propose a much broader scope for the application of ethics to realms beyond human interaction. Hopefully by examining Callicott's essay in greater detail, the validity of his argument concerning…

Animal conservation [...] importance to human society to conserve endangered animals, and will include some examples of organizations that help in animal conservation.

The conservation of endangered animals is extremely important to our society in many ways. The ecology of the Earth has worked for millions of years, but as our planet loses many types of animals and other life, we are slowly changing the ecological balance, and because of this, we could slowly be destroying the planet. Humans have destroyed many species, including the dodo bird, the passenger pigeon, and we nearly destroyed the California condor. Each of these species plays a specific role in their ecological niche, and when we destroy one, it creates a chain reaction that can eventually destroy any animal that depends on another for its survival. For example, in Hawaii there is a very special type of lily that depends on a certain kind…

animal research and experimentation in psychology? When, if ever, do you think that animal research is justified? Do you approve of current regulations concerning it? Why or why not?

One of the most horrifying images in psychology is that of a monkey, clinging to a false 'mother' monkey that looks like a piece of carpet. The monkey has been deprived of maternal companionship to compare its psychological reactions to those monkeys given adequate maternal care. The results of these experiments, unsurprisingly, concluded that animals that received such treatment were traumatized in comparison to those who did not find themselves taken away from their mothers.

Except in the most extreme cases where animal experimentation can conclusively further human life, rather than merely indulge human desire to enhance knowledge, it seems best to forego such experimentation, as often the results merely lead to conclusions about the obvious, or deal with cognitive capacities…

animal species studied for this report include the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) and the American Black Bear (Ursus americanus). The plant species studied are the Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) and the Prickly Pear cactus (Opuntia humifusa). Each of these species has been observed at the local zoo, and further research has been conducted to learn about the environment in which each species would live in a natural setting. The behavior which have been observed within the zoo have also been combined with the noted behaviors of these species from a natural setting to give a more complete range of information. From this study, I have learned that there are many similarities between the behavior that can be observed in both plants and animals in a captive setting and their natural behavior. However, there are also many notable differences, based largely on to what degree the zoological habitat varies from that…

If anything else, most animals on this planet have evolved thousands or millions of years before human beings. They are the inheritors of this planet as much as any human being. The principle of Ethology and anthropology have shown us that animals act in many ways just like humans, they protect their young, operate within groups and show the structure and the formalities just as complex as human society. Therefore, it is wrong for philosophers to assert their inhumaneness as a qualifier for their abuse. It is evident from modern understanding that animals are just as sophisticated and entitled to their existence as humanity.

Animals not only are sophisticated creatures within their own right, they also play a fundamental role within our environment and our world. Ecology and the study of the environment have revealed that the ecosystem is not only very fragile, but that every animal as a unique…

In particular, Singer could have explained that moral concern for animals does not necessarily require that humans become vegetarians.

On the other hand, there is a tremendous moral difference between raising animals for consumption in conditions that provide for their reasonable comfort and humane slaughter and doing so without any regard at all for their comfort in life or trauma during slaughter. In many instances, morally questionable practices, especially in the farming industry, could be resolved simply by valuing the goal of avoiding the unnecessary infliction of pain a little more and the maximization of profits a little less.

Similarly, Singer does not explain that appropriate moral concern for animals does not necessarily preclude all experimental uses, but only requires a good-faith effort to minimize their suffering and to consider whether the potential benefits of the experiments to humans justifies their cost to animal subjects where it is not possible…

life on earth depended upon a fragile balance of well being in the lives of all living things. As humanity became more civilized, technology and research have provided people with the means to artificially enhance their own chances of survival. The problem with this is that it destroyed the natural balance of life on earth. Not being as susceptible as before to illness and early death, humanity soon became so numerous that the needs of people were superimposed upon the needs of everything else. This fundamental disrespect for all non-human life is the reason for the ecological crisis we are facing today. Using animals in laboratory experiments in order to enhance the quality of human life is another manifestation of the disrespect mentioned above. I therefore believe that human beings should re-establish their connection with the natural, and that they should cultivate respect for all life in this ways. This…

Mignini, Pradeep Jayaram, and Khalid S. Khan

BMJ 2007 334: 197. Online available at http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/334/7588/274

Perel, et al. (2007) states that only immediate preclinical testing of new drug therapies, but animal research aids medical science in many more ways Animal studies play a part in the initial development of candidate drugs, and the development and testing of medical devices and surgical procedures. Even more crucial, animal research informs clinical research by building the foundation of biological knowledge." (2007)

16. Study on Long-Term Effects of Chemicals on the Environment

Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. 22 Mar 2007. Online available at http://www.rcep.org.uk/chemicals/chemscop.htm

This work states that diverse organizations including the 'Chemical Industries Association', CEFIC, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions as well as the Department of Health and Friends of the Earth "...raise the impact of chemicals assessment policy on animal testing. Most of the Department of the Environment,…

Society Feels About Animals

As a first order primate, humans have a natural affinity with animals of all types that has contributed to their mutual relationships throughout history. In fact, animals of different types have been since the time of the ancient Greeks to improve the emotional and functional status of humans (Mccauley, 2006, p. 358). Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has grown in popularity in recent years based on its proven efficacy in treating a wide range of healthcare and mental health conditions. Although dogs and cats are most commonly used in AAT settings, horses, rabbits and even fish can also be used. For instance, according to Macauley, "The use of animals ranges from companion animals that provide camaraderie and emotional support to assistance animals that provide direct physical-functional support to therapy animals that aid with the habilitation-rehabilitation in physical, occupational, speech-language, and recreation therapy" (2006, p. 358). Moreover, some researchers…

Meat in our culture is an indulgence, an unhealthy food product, extremely cruel to animals, and produced by a system which inevitably teaches apathy and sadism to our children. Therefore it is not a part of the proper relationship between humans and animals for people to eat meat in America.

Animals have long been used for experimentation of medical procedures, and there is a general opinion among the public that this is a necessity in order to save human life. However, when defining the relationship between humans and animals in this aspect of society, it is necessary to remember that not long ago it was considered acceptable to experiment on the mentally ill housed in asylums in order to save the lives of "complete" humans. Does this seem like an appropriate relationship between special needs people and the rest of society? Most people feel that the answer is a resounding…

Agriculture

Animal Nutrition and Feed Evaluation

Qualitative, scientific-based evaluations of animal feed and the resultant nutrition of the animal are crucial for maintaining optimal animal health and responding to problems that develop as a result of diet. In the case of ruminants, this can be particularly important as their unique digestive system can complicate providing optimal nutrition from traditional feed sources and techniques. A balanced nutrient approach to ruminant diet must take into account not only the feed that is being given to the animal, but also, crucially, the way in which the animal's digestive system will process that feed and provide (or not) nutrition to the animal. Creating this type of qualitative knowledge about the digestive system and nutrition needs of rumens with regard to different feeds "developed most rapidly when isotope dilution techniques became easy to apply, facilitated by improved instrumentation and mathematical approaches" (1). From this information,…

Animal Abuse and Violent Criminal Behavior

In the peer reviewed article and literary review of Patterson-Kane and Piper's article from 2010 they did an article after researching and investigating whether there are alleged disagreements involving animals that are physically mistreated and people who are aggressive and carry out unlawful actions. Within the review of Patterson-Kane and Piper, they did a research using independent and dependent variables, and the independent ones are the ones that are used in an experimentation which is being maneuvered in the research in categorizing to the outcome on the dependent variable which is the response variable which is also looked after in the study that the independent ones causes the dependent one to change to help of the experiment. The survey was conducted to determine if there was perhaps violent intentions in criminals first begins with cruelty to animals and possibly also lead to them also…

animal studies relating to neurological disorders and how they are often ostensibly biased is the subject of the article covered for this brief report. The article was published earlier in 2013 and appeared in PLOS and on the internet (Tsilidis, 2013).

The article did a study of a series of prior studies that used animal testing and research to look at neurological disorder. In total, a total of nearly 4,500 data sets were looked at. The diseases that were followed the most included Alzheimer disease, experimental autoimmune encephalitis, focal ischemia, intracerebral hemorrhage, Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injuries in general. The study focused on the significance bias of these studies. To that end, it found that 919 out of the 4,445 results were expected vs. The 1,719 that were observed. This excess significance was found across all of the disorders mentioned above and were not limited to just one or…

Chromatin Lab Report

The use of DNA in today's world is very obvious, and the ability of the researcher and scientist to successfully manipulate this source of information to contribute to learning and understanding is great and powerful. DNA is found amongst chromatin which is found in certain types of fatty cells. Chromatin is key to the design of cells as it provides blueprints on how individual cells can be constructed. Since the packing structure of DNA is very dense this chemical reaction provides an understanding of how cellular relationships unfold and manifest.

DNA must be removed from the Chromatin which is stored as nucleosomes as the DNA strands wrap around these cellular structures. Saline provides an excellent solution to help separate these bonds and provide the isolating power to extract DNA for further examination. To salinize the targeted substance a constant and increasing amount of saline solution is added…

, 2000, p. 686). Virtually all swine CAFOs must cope with a significant amount of waste materials on-site that have been linked with serious odors and contain antimicrobials, nutrients, organics, and pathogenic microbes (Cole et al., 2000). For instance, raw swine manure can contain as much as 100 million fecal coliform bacteria per gram (Crane, Moore & Gismer, 1983). Futhermore, it has been estimated that 100 million lions tons of feces and urine are produced annually by the 60 million hogs raised in the United States (Meadows, 1995). According to Cole et al. (2000), the detection of specific exposures and diseases in the communities surrounding swine CAFOs has presented a challenge for the industry and healthcare officials alike because of the additional complexities of environmental dispersion of agents and human exposure pathways. In addition, the susceptibility of community residents to contaminants and pathogens may be substantially different from that of…

Animal Welfare Ethics: Is There A Balanced Approach?
Part One: The Question
It is generally considered unethical, even illegal, to practice cruelty towards animals reared as pets. Wantonly killing wildlife is similarly scorned, and yet for some reason consumers turn a blind eye to livestock. It is possible to eat a balanced, healthy, and delicious diet that does not include meat but it is also understandable that many people would prefer a more balanced approach to animal welfare and the ethics of meat consumption. Therefore, the ethical question for this paper is: “Are factory farming conditions unethical, and if so, what would constitute an ethical framework for farming animals?”
Part Two: Introduction
Almost all (99%) of all livestock in the United States is raised in what is known as “factory farming” conditions, described by the ASCPA (2018) as “a large, industrial operation that raises large numbers of animals for food,”…

Extinction

Punctuated Equilibrium

Evolutionists for generations after Darwin imagined a slow and steady process of adaptation, in which daily culling and breeding success very gradually adapted a population from one form into another. Such a process would not be dissimilar to unnatural selection, such as that done with domesticated animals, that gradually worked to change a wolf into a little Cairn Terrier or Shih Tzu. However, some have suggested that there might be a more sudden sort of change involved, in which evolution moves suddenly and with great speed. This theorized form of evolution, called punctuated equilibrium, has been widely debated, but seems to be increasingly accepted by scientists. There appears to be evidence for punctuated equilibrium from laboratory experiments, from field and fossil evidence, from theory and even from Darwin's original work.

It is a common misconception that evolution cannot be experimentally studied in laboratories -- actually, a number…

Animal Rights

The amount of heed to be given regarding the rights of animals has remained to be a heated argument these past few years due to the new, innovative ways of people and their treatment of animals in various situations. The most common concern of those worried about animals is the method of scientists to test products on animals to see how successful they are and whether the products may potentially cause harm to humans if they use them.

Animal testing has numerous categories. While a few scientists make use of animals for medicinal experiments, others may use it to test the safety of cosmetics and other products for human use. The key factor due to which this argument has still gone on is the constant questioning as to why one should care about animals and the danger to them when we test products on them. A common misconception…

Animal Advocacy Organizations

There are many local, national, and international organizations that advocate for the rights and welfare of animals, domestic and wild. Two of those organisations are PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). In this paper, the two will be compared and contrasted.

PETA & ASPCA

The ASPCA was the very first humane society to exist in North America, according to their website. Henry Bergh founded the ASPCA in 1866, who believed that animals have the right to be respected by humans, and to be treated kindly, and to be protected under the law. In fact the ASPCA was the first humane organization that has been granted "legal authority to investigate and make arrests for crimes against animals… [although the ASPCA] fulfills its mission through nonviolent approaches" (ASPCA).

PETA was founded in 1980, and their…

Animal Farm

An Analysis of Orwell's Animal Farm

George Orwell's Animal Farm is a highly symbolic "fantasy" in which modern day revolution, ideologues, working class members, media and human nature are represented by the animals of Jones' Farm, the setting for the staged rebellion and the institutionalization of Totalitarianism. This paper will analyze Animal Farm from the perspective of plot, character, setting, theme, point-of-view, style and symbolism and show how Orwell's novel satirizes major players of his day and age.

The plot of Animal Farm is simple: Old Major calls the animals together one evening to tell them of a dream he has had. It is the dream of a Romantic, in which equality and class elevation are the ideals. He represents the ideals of the Romantic/Enlightenment era. When he dies, his ideals are pushed forward by the equally romantic Snowball, who encourages the animals to unite against Farmer Jones,…

Animal Learning

Comparative cognition is a psychological approach to learning that studies how animals process information. S.T. Boysen (1998) in his article presents the summary and review of different issues concerning this approach specifically in relation to animal learning. Pervious studies and researches were discussed and their findings were carefully explained to show how cognitive learning approach has evolved over the years and what it tells us about "information-processing, reasoning, memory, and the phylogenetic emergence of mind" in nonhuman species. Imitative behavior and the influence of imitation on learning capabilities of an animal have occupied the most important place in comparative cognitive research. However imitation has been a contentious subject with varying definitions as key researchers have failed to agree on one specific pattern of learning through imitation even though the earliest studies in this connection appeared during late 19th century. For example Romanes (1884) found that imitation required "intelligent…

Animal Rights

There is much controversy with regard to animal rights and to the degree to which society should address this issue. On the one hand there are people who believe that using animals for scientific purposes is perfectly reasonable on account of the benefits that this brings to people. On the other hand, there are individuals who believe that performing tests on animals is particularly wrong and that people should be more concerned with the well-being of animals. While it is obviously wrong to harm other beings, it is difficult and almost impossible to ignore the scientific benefits that animal testing has generated.

The very idea of animal rights suggests that animals are entitled to a series of freedoms. With animals being abused on a daily basis throughout the world, the majority of people likely consider this idea to be much too perfectionistic, especially considering the world of medicine…

Animal Rights & Testing

The author of this report has been asked to contrast, compare and analyze three articles that all relate to basically the same thing, that being the status and rights of animals. As part of the analysis, there will be an agreement on the points with which the author of this report agrees, a critical thinking of how the authors attempt to refute each other, the key elements of those refutations, the significant connections that exist between the three texts, what those connections mean to the author of this report in terms of framing the author of this report's views and a gist of the synthesis conducted will bring up the proverbial rear of the analysis. This report will conclude with a setting up, but not a full execution, of the author's own potential argument that might or might not happen on future reports. While animals are…

UK legislation requires that researchers refine their procedures to keep suffering to the minimum, ensure the number of animals is reduced to the minimum required for meaningful results, and seek to replace the use of animals with non-animal alternatives where appropriate" (the Royal Society, 2004). This argument is valid from the point-of-view of the necessity of animal testing. The attempts to reduce the pain and discomfort of animals are significant for their added value to science. That is to say that even the research conducted to limit the discomfort can provide important information for scientists.

Some of the most common animals on which tests are being conducted are the monkeys that are considered to be relatively close in terms of structure and behavior to humans. Therefore, the question is often related to the ethical and moral nature of testing on monkeys. However, in terms of the added value provided by…

Zoo Animals

Human beings have kept animals in zoos for centuries, but only relatively recently have the ethical considerations of this practice been widely considered. At one extreme are those individuals and organizations that see no problem keeping animals in zoos and other attractions, in keeping with the long history of animal confinement in the service of human entertainment, and at the other extreme are those individuals and groups arguing that animals should not be kept in zoos out of ethical considerations. However, this dichotomy has been complicated in recent years as zoos have increasingly become some of the most important centers of animal conservancy efforts, forcing a reevaluation of the ethical status of zoos in regards to the animals they contain, and the potential benefit they provide. Examining the history of zoos, their potential for harm, and the ways they might better consider animal welfare reveals that not only…

'There's no question he had a remarkable repertoire with bears and had a remarkable ability for them to tolerate him ... (but) just so people don't get the wrong idea, Tim definitely knew there were bears out there that were bad medicine.'" (Manning, p. 1)

The phrase 'bad medicine' here implies a certain moral proposition in the bear's behavior, attributing a distinctly human way of perceiving the act of killing to its actions. However, as the article shows, this anthropomorphic phrasing may be misplaced, particularly given Treadwell's dangerous intrusion into the territory of his study subjects. This denotes that it may not be entirely rational to project the notion of 'murder' to the killing but that human beings will tend to do so. The notion of a 'bad' bear indicates that there is some moral action which has occurred, a perception which is a departure from the decidedly objective selectivity…

animals for testing [...] why we should use animals for testing. It will include arguments on why using animals for testing is a widespread and scientifically sound practice. The use of animals in testing has been going on for thousands of years, and has led to some of the most significant and live saving medical breakthroughs on the planet. Medical testing using animals should certainly be humane, but should continue, as it saves lives and helps researchers discover life-saving technologies before testing on humans.

USING ANIMALS FOR TESTING

Using animals for scientific research is a highly controversial practice. Many highly visible animals rights groups, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), have sprung up over the years that decry the use of animals for testing under any circumstances. In the case of PETA, their animal rights activities often spill over into the questionable, as their recent ad…

Philosophical Analysis of Animal-Human Interactions

Both animal rights and ecocentrism discourage hunting, although for different reasons. Thesis: Animal rights philosophy views hunting from a moral perspective, as the unnecessary infliction of suffering on sentient beings, no less immoral than the persecution of human beings. Ecocentrism views hunting from a perspective of self-interest, as an activity with unforeseeable consequences which could threaten the ability of many life-forms to sustain themselves on planet Earth.

The Basis for Animal Rights

Animal Nature in the Age of Ancient Philosophy and Religion

The earliest comprehensive theories on animal nature come from ancient Indian philosophers. Vedic philosophy, the precursor to Hinduism, held that many non-human objects possess consciousness. Even plants and rocks have consciousness, though at a much lower level than humans. For these philosophers, all sentient beings have an individual soul, which they called "Atman." The purpose of existence was for the individual soul to…

In these cases, the ethical and moral choice seems to be to find another way to test these products that is not so cruel, and to keep cruel procedures out of the labs altogether. The case of the cat sex experiments at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City in the 1960s are another case in point. Researchers maimed cats in a variety of ways, from removing parts of their brains to obliterating their sense of smell, and then noted how these procedures affected their sexual activities. The study continued for over a decade, without any clear results, and when the public learned about it, there was a huge outcry and the testing stropped (Degrazia 98). Studies like this, without a clear purpose, seem even more cruel and unusual, and they helped to give animal research such a bad reputation that laws were enacted regarding the ethical…

Human interactions with nonhuman animals should be guided solely by the impact of these interactions with other human beings, and not upon any perceived impact upon nonhuman animals themselves. This argument is based largely upon Descartes' understanding of the essential difference between humans and nonhuman animals. Descartes' argues that the body is external to the mind, and that non-human animals do not possess the pure, thinking mind of humans. Thus, Descartes argues that nonhuman animals are simply machines, and that human treatment of animals should only be guided by the impact of such interaction upon other humans. In contrast, thinkers like Anthony Weston have argued that similarity of human and animal perception and experience means that human should treat animals as feeling beings. Similarly, Abram argues that the human connection with the natural world should govern our interaction with animals. Descartes' arguments for the uniqueness of human thought essentially counter…

In fact, when looking at the records of the environmental fights and debates that have been fought in the past, it is no surprise to see the aspect of animal suffering and extinction being given its due attention. It is also interesting to note that fights fought by the environmentalist and animal rights activist before the World War II took place were all based on the selfish and ruthless destruction of one of the nature's most bounty resources and the extinction of the other in order to better insure the development of weapons or forces equipments, and treating both the natural resources and animals (humans and non-humans) as expendable and insignificant goods. Both groups refused to believe in the utmost faith given to science as the solution to all the problems and it is no surprise that both these revolutions began with very little space between each other. There are…

The purpose is to determine whether the "face-processing system of humans" and in this case, the tamarin, share characteristics.

By finding out if humans' face-processing systems and the face-processing systems of the tamarin are similar, the researchers will be more readily be able to allow "early and quick processing of socially salient stimuli" (Neiworth, et al., 2003). Do humans and primate share sensitivity toward "conspecific faces" (i.e., faces of the same species), and do they share an ability to "generalize changes in the face that do not suggest a new identity" (Neiworth). The researchers presented the subjects (a human and taramin) with "a human face, chimpanzee face, taramin face, or an object as a sample." The faces were either in an upright position, or inverted in the next phase of the research.

Conclusion: The above-mentioned research is an example of a totally ethical, well-managed psychological experiment. The results showed that…

Scientifically, this might not really be 'thought' as it is likely that researchers would say it is simply rote memorization and a repeat behavior that has taught this animal what specific sounds coming from his owner require of him so that he can react a certain way. By so doing, he knows that there is an end result - a reward - that he will receive, and so he goes through the memorized process again. However, it can be argued that memorization is not the only thing that animals are capable of (Wynne, 2004). Another case of a dog 'thinking' about what he was doing came from a recent house fire that made the news. This particular dog was a service dog, and it rescued its owner from a burning house. After the person was rescued, the dog went back into the still-burning house in an attempt to rescue the…

Zoo Animal Technology Program

I want to enter the Zoo Animal Technology Program at BLANK University for a number of reasons. First, I have always loved animals since I was very young, and I've always felt I wanted to help take care of them in some capacity as my career. In the past, I've had tropical fish, dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, birds, and other animals in my family for as long as I can remember. I have always been involved in training, maintaining, and caring for these animals, and I have loved every one of them. I would like to continue in my life.

I also strongly believe in animal conservation and husbandry, and the zoo technology program would allow me to learn more about these important areas of zookeeping. I know that many animals are endangered in the wild today, and the only way to help preserve…

Hierarchy of Animals

THE RELATIVE HIERARCHY OF ANIMALS

Are human beings worthy of being considered the highest form of animal life?

Whether or not human beings can fairly be considered the highest form of animal life depends largely on how one chooses to define the objective hierarchical criteria. If one proposes that relative hierarchical status is determined by the range of sensory modalities with which an organism perceives and interacts with the physical world, then mammalian species that have evolved ultrasonic communication or the cerebral capacity to generate and interpret sonar transmission, such as bats and dolphins, would outrank human beings (Berry, 1996).

If one defines relative hierarchy by life span, then reptiles such as sea tortoises and numerous avian species such as parrots occupy the highest position on the scale of life on Earth. If one defines hierarchical relationships based on duration of existence on Earth, then the highest…

Furthermore, animals are given much more respect within entertainment than otherwise. Animals are viewed with both awe and joy by those who are watching them. They raise the level of awareness we feel for animals and make the audience care more. They would receive no better treatment were they "in the wild" or domesticated. Having animals in entertainment can be equivalent to having a pet at home, both of which is not demeaning as a rule.

Using Animals within entertainment does not hurt animals, on the contrary it helps improve their overall image within audiences, and at the same time they receive special and respectful treatment from their caretakers. It is a win-win situation for both sides.

Anderson, Kay. 1998. Animals, Science and Spectacle in the City, in Jennifer Wolch and Jody Emel (eds) Animal Geographies: Place, Politics, and Identity in the Nature-Culture Borderlands. 27-50. New York: Verso.

Beardsworth, Alan…

Structure of Animals

Two animal phyla that can be compared and contrasted are Nematoda and Annelida. Nematoda are roundworms. There are more than 15,000 known species, with scientists estimating there may be as many as half a million species yet to be discovered (Waggoner, 2009). Nematoda have a worm-like appearance outside and a simple internal body structure. The phylum Annelida includes earthworms and their relatives, leeches, and a large number of mostly marine worms known as polychaetes (Waggoner, 2006). Annelids are characterized by their segmented bodies. They also have bristles on their bodies. It is estimated there are approximately 9,000 species of annelids today.

The Animal Phylogenetic Tree ("Mastering Biology," 2012) is a useful visual learning aid that is helpful in demonstrating the similarities and differences between these two phyla. The first diagram shows eight phyla, of which Nematoda and Annelida are two. Only one of the phyla, Porifera, is…

Ethograms

Animal Observation Lab

All ethological research must begin with accurate observation of the subjects at hand. One of the most important aspects of accurate observation is that the observer be able to isolate and distinguish one type of behavior from another. For example, when a primate scratches itself, is it engaging in ritual grooming behavior or is it simply scratching an insect bite? Researchers must be able to distinguish and catalogue such differences if they are to acquire a complete picture of the range of meaningful behaviors of an animal (Shanor & Kanwal, 2009).

In my observations of two species of animals at the Bronx Zoo I was able to observe (and record) a number of distinct behaviors. In observing a group of monkeys (some orange in color, others dark brown) I was very much aware of the fact that the different individual monkeys displayed very distinctive behavior: I…

unpredictable as animals. They are more unpredictable than animals, unless you include wild animals. Domestic animals are really very predictable. For that matter, if one knows anything about wild animal behavior, their actions are fairly predictable as well. A terrified horse will always run; he has not claws to fight, for example.

But let's investigate the behavior of domestic animals. Consider the cat. The cat will always seek a warm, soft spot to lie down. If it's chilly, the cat will seek the sun coming in the window. If it's too warm, the cat will seek a cool, dark place where it can rest its eyes and be relatively comfortable while it does what it usually does, sleep. When it awakes, it will stretch. It then will do one of a very few things. It might groom itself. Or it might go to its food bowl. Or it might meow…

The same variables of the cranial and caudal sacs would be observed in order to determine if the sounds being produced where indeed coming from these organs or not. It may be that these two organs are either the source of the sound or are in someway related to the sound that these researchers heard during the tank experiment coming from the swimbladder.

Did the newspaper article describe the research article correctly? Explain.

The newspaper article "Hearing the Repertoire of a Very Fearsome Fish" by Bhanoo (2011) did a good job in describing the research article correctly. It described how the researchers used piranhas to study and how they used a hydrophone to record underwater sounds coming from the piranhas. It described how the sounds made were recorded during fighting, charging and frontal display. The author explained how it was previously believed that piranhas produced only a single barking sound,…

Nineteenth century physiologist Claude Bernard first started practicing experimental medicine on animals. Bernard thought it was immoral to conduct laboratory experiments on humans, if these test were not proven first proven to be safe on animals (LaFollette and Shanks, 1994). Man, as the most intelligent species of the animal kingdom, is constantly discovering new and innovative ideas to improve his life style and the quality of life. A proof of this advancement is evident in the average increase in the life span of the man from 45 years at the turn of the 19th century to 73 years in 21st century. Although a number of medical breakthroughs in recent history are due to the intensive research using animals as test subjects for the initial clinical trials, the number of experiments that have ended in failure -- consequently, at the cost of the sacrificing the life of the animal -- far…

Warm-blooded vs. Cold-Blooded Animals

Most animals can be classified as either warm-blooded or cold-blooded. For example, all mammals and birds are warm-blooded, while all reptiles, amphibians, insects and fish are cold-blooded. As the owner of a leopard gecko, which is cold blooded, and a dog, which is warm-blooded, I chose this topic for my essay because I wanted to understand exactly what it means to be warm-blooded or cold-blooded, and how these creatures differ.

Basically, the temperature of an animal's blood is directly related to its body temperature. Warm-blooded creatures keep the inside of their bodies at a consistent temperature by generating their own body heat when they are in a cold environment, and cooling their body heat down when they are in a hot place. In order to create heat, warm-blooded animals transform all consumed food into energy. In comparison to cold-blooded animals, warm-blooded animals must eat a lot…

Mastery Over Nature and the Exotic Animal Trade

Humankind has always had a fascination with nature and specifically animals in nature and even more specifically with conquering the animal or gaining mastery over the animal. The exotic animal has been the focus of great aspiration of humankind to attain mastery over. The reasons for this are varied in nature with some individuals obtaining exotic animals for their own pleasure and as examined in this particular informative study there is desire for obtaining exotic animals so that human beings can experience the animals of nature.

Adelaide Zoo, Adelaide, South Australia

The setting examined in this study is that of the Adelaide Zoo, located Adelaide, South Australia. The work of Kay Anderson entitled "Culture and Nature at the Adelaide Zoo: At the Frontier of Human Geography" reports that in the suburban backyard, people unknowingly "make their more routine interventions in nature by…

Indictment of the Moral Offense of Animal Cruelty

Animals think. Animals feel emotion. Animals experience pain. Yet there are members of our human society that find these facts irrelevant. In fact there are many people that have no problem disregarding these facts entirely as long as they are able to reap some type of personal reward or benefit from an animal. Whether that benefit is in the form of food, clothing, or testing the latest new lipstick, it is always at the expense of the animal's well-being. In this paper I argue that the abuse of animals is morally wrong and therefore animals ought to be afforded rights which place the same consideration on their sentience as is placed on human beings.

Sentience is a term used to describe the fact that animals feel pain and emotions in much the same fashion as human beings. It is also used as…

In this case those supporting testing might proclaim there is no evidence suggesting the animal always suffers ill-effects, therefore testing is not always wrong.

This methodology however is flawed. Proponents of animal testing fail to consider the number of animals that experience reduced life span or reduced quality of life resulting in the confined environment in which they must live while testing. Further, proponents of testing fail to identify what types of tests are safe and which are not. The very fact that animals must be used to test something suggests that some danger is always imminent, thus the life or quality of life of animals tested is always at risk. It does not matter whether that risk is small or very large. All risk is worthy of consideration and notice.

Unfortunately those whose religious practices forbid the use of animals as experimental tools often go to extreme measures to…

Human Nature, Difference Between Man and Animal

With respect to human nature, some philosopher argue that humans and animals are the same, while others reject it; but the strangest conflict is the conflict of Aristotelian and Thomist view point, which despite appearing to be the same are at lock heads with each other.

When describing the impalpable in terms of the Aristotelian point-of-view, in regards to the visible dissimilarities among animals, contrary to human beings, it is highly noticeable how Aristotle characterized the nature of an animal to be the very basic sense of mobility guided by perception. Such simple observation mimics the exact nature of the animality that is definable on mother earth, where the animal builds an adumbration of her surrounding by the means of apprehension and the subsequent illustration together with her congenital calculative disposition. Such innate behavior allows the animal to avoid the detection from howling…

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.

In…

controversy with regard to preclinical testing on animals, as society has reached a point where the ethics behind testing drugs on animals makes it difficult and almost impossible for researchers to continue to perform their studies. Institutions such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agency are unhesitant about supporting testing in animals because this is in most cases the most effective way to find out more about a drug's potential effects on a human. Even though testing on animals can be considered cruel by some, the reality is that it is one of the principal reasons why society as a whole was able to produce some of the drugs that helped mankind evolve rapidly during recent decades.

In order to see the topic of animal testing in a context enabling a person to understand why it is significant, one would have to consider the numerous cases when drugs that…

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…

Wild species, which includes that of animals, plants, and of other organisms, constitute the most part of the seafood of the world and of the timber. The Wild species provide a means of earning to the communities apart from providing them with food, medicines, fibers, skins, furs and forage, without which many communities could not have had their living.

Apart from this they also help in the intellectual growth, provide a sense of beauty and also promotes the religious and cultural beliefs of the people. Because of the importance given to the wild species and of the use made of them by people, many natural and semi-natural ecosystems owe their present existence and even their future would owe to these uses.

Firstly, the use of wild species is that it has direct commercial value in terms of fishing, hunting, harvesting which enables the U.S. economy to earn $200 billion and…

Histology is the study of animal and plant tissues. Tissues are defined as cells with their ground substance acting together in the performance of a particular function. An organ is an aggregation of tissues that occur and function together to provide a division of labor. Epithelial tissue covers body's surface and most of the inner cavity. It also provides the essential functions of protection; containment of body fluids and transport in and out across body surfaces. Connective tissue is quite diverse and is not as cellular as other types of tissue. Connective tissue provides stiffness to the body (bone) and helps the body withstand tension, stress and shearing (twisting) forces.

The basic difference between connective tissue structure and epithelial structure are the following: 1) Cells of connective tissue are not directly attached to one another unlike epithelial cells; 2) Connective tissue is derived from mesenchyme unlike epithelial tissue which is…

Negative Effects of Animal Cloning

A method used to produce multiple copies of a certain animal is referred to as animal cloning. The most frequently and latest method of cloning is called Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. In this method, the nucleus is removed from one animal and replaced with a nucleus from the animal to be cloned Panno, 2009.

In most cases, the donor has to be an animal which has desirable traits. The cell will develop into an embryo that will be implanted into the surrogate mother. The born animal will have the same DNA as that of the donor animal, which will ensure that it will also have the same desirable traits.

Less biodiversity

Due to cloning and using of animals with the desirable traits, there is a likelihood that the animals cloned will all have the same DNA which will result in no biodiversity. This will mean…

Psychology

How Animal Therapy Assists Various Kinds of Patients

Animals and humans have had a long and multifaceted relationship over time. There are many of us who have visited petting zoos, regular zoos, and kept pets in our homes. People who have bonded with animals know first hand how strong the connection can be between a person and an animal. It is only been in the past several decades where formal research into the advantages of animal-human companionship has been conducted. As recently as the 1960s is when this research began, and in subsequent decades, the area of Animal Assisted Therapy has been established, and a number of studies have been conducted about the numerous physiological, emotional, psychological, cognitive, and behavioral benefits there are when humans and animals spend time with each other, in the long-term and in the short-term. Animal Assisted Therapy has been implemented in a variety of…

Should Animals Be Used in Scientific Testing for Medical Research or Commercial Products?
The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. – Genesis 9:2 (c. 1450 BCE)
Studies published in prestigious medical journals have shown time and again that animal experimentation wastes lives—both animal and human—and precious resources by trying to infect animals with diseases that they would never normally contract. -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (2019)
As the epigraphs above clearly show that humankind’s views about using animals for their own purposes have changed significantly over the past several millennia, but despite increasing condemnation by animal rights advocates, animal testing for medical research or commercial products continues around the…