Essay Sample: The Reality of Animal Testing

Imagine having lived in a small, enclosed area for the past five weeks. Not having eaten a proper meal in four days and only leaving your “cage” when the men wearing long white coats came. They force chemicals into your eyes, not stopping no matter how loud the crying is or how plentiful the pleading is. This happens every day to animals all around the world. Humans experiment on them for their personal benefit. This is wrong for endless reasons. Therefore, animal testing should be banned.

First of all, animal testing is unreliable. According to Animal Aid, "Arthritis drug Opren is known to have killed 61 people" ("Killing animals and humans"). This same drug passed the tests on monkeys. Monkeys are known to have the closest DNA to humans, but the results don't match. Animal testing is causing deaths instead of preventing them. If monkeys can’t be counted on to produce accurate results, what animal can be considered reliable? Not only this but also "95 percent of all drugs tested on animals fail in human trials" ("11 Shocking Animal Testing Statistics That Are Hard to Swallow"). This is more proof that animals are suffering in vain. Since animal testing is misleading, why not just skip the animal phase and rely on human trials? Millions of animals are killed unnecessarily every year. These animals’ deaths aren’t leading to the progression of medical research, but rather to the deaths of humans. As Einstein stated, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Clearly, it is insanity that after all of the failures, animal testing still exists. Since the disadvantages of animal testing heavily outweigh the advantages, it needs to become a thing of the past.

Humans aren’t the only ones suffering from animal testing, animals do too. Secondly, animal testing is cruel. For example, according to PETA, “between 2015 and 2019, more than 300,000 animals covered under the AWA were subjected to painful experiments without pain relief” (“11 Shocking Animal Testing Statistics That Are Hard to Swallow”). Animals experience pain and fear the same way as humans. When humans have tough surgeries they go under anesthesia, but when it comes to animals, who are being tested on because they are “similar” to humans, they are given nothing to cope with these deadly experiments. Would you subject your family to this without their consent? This is what is happening to animals all around the world. If they are so “similar” to humans, they should have the same rights. The AWA supposedly ensures that animals are treated under specific standards. It is meant to protect their rights, but it clearly doesn’t. Animal testing facilities are able to violate the AWA with no legal or financial consequences. The mistreatment of animals is happening all over the world because the inspection of research facilities isn’t up to par. In addition, animal testing facilities don’t even provide basic living conditions to these laboratory animals. According to Animal Aid, “laboratory animals are typically kept in small cages or kennels, generally denied any comfort or stimulation” (“Killing animals and humans”). They cannot exercise for the weeks, months, or years the experiment takes, and they are generally killed at the end. This could not only prove tests to be even more ineffective but also is not morally correct. This stretches far beyond the “just research” territory and is simply cruelty. Unlike humans, animals are unable to consent. They can’t tell the researchers how they feel or if they are willing to do these experiments, but they still experience the same pain as if they were humans. Without a doubt, animal experimentation is inhumane and needs to be stopped.

Not only is animal testing harmful to both humans and animals, but also it is wasteful. Finally, animal testing wastes money. According to PETA, “every year in the U.S., NIH blows about 47% of research funding on animal experimentation” (“11 Shocking Animal Testing Statistics That Are Hard to Swallow”). This is about “$14.5 billion per year of taxpayer dollars [spent] on animal experimentation” (“Animals Used in Research”). Based on how unreliable animal testing is, it is illogical to spend almost half of the research funding per year on it. We are funding the torturing and killing of animals with almost no benefit to us. These funds could be focused on improving education. With better education, the possibility of further medical progress opens up. There is simply no reason to keep wasting billions of taxpayer dollars when it could be funding research that avoids harmful procedures. These funds could be used for other trials that are more reliable and morally correct.

Opponents might argue that animal testing is necessary for medical progress. However, this is not true. Over the years, cheaper, faster, and more reliable alternatives to animal testing have been developed. For instance, “scientists have even managed to coax cells to grow into 3D structures, such as miniature human organs” (“Alternatives to animal testing”). These can be used to test therapies as opposed to studying depression by drowning mice in inescapable water beakers (“Killing animals and humans”). Moreover, donated human tissue from surgeries can be used to test skin and eye irritants rather than using rabbits for the Draize test, which has been occurring since the 1940s; the tissue test is 20% more accurate than the rabbit one (“Alternatives to animal testing”). Also, brain tissue from those who have already passed has “provided important leads to understanding brain regeneration and the effects of Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease” (“Alternatives to animal testing”). Using these donated tissues prevents waste. All of these methods are harmless to humans and animals alike; the same cannot be said for animal testing. They are morally correct as there is no need to ask for consent. Also, they are more effective since they are closer to the anatomy of humans than animals are. These tests prevent the deaths of humans, not cause them. Why continue to fund the torturing of animals when experiments like these exist?

It has been almost a year now. The same routine happens every day. It has become normal and almost doesn’t hurt anymore. Today was different. After the experiment, you are brought to another room. You feel a prick and suddenly the lights go black and don’t turn on ever again. At the end of experiments, animals are generally killed off as nothing. Why are animals treated as worthless? Animals have been mistreated all throughout history. Whether it is experimenting on them or using them as means of entertainment. At the end of the day expecting them to trust us and love us like good pets. This animal cruelty needs to stop and the first step is banning animal testing.