Animal Experimentation: The Greater Good or Unnecessary Suffering?
If you are active on social media, there is a chance you have come across PETA. PETA, that stands for 'People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' is an international organization that advocates for animal rights. One of their main targets of attention are animals used for research.
If you are active on social media, there is a chance you have come across PETA. PETA, that stands for 'People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' is an international organization that advocates for animal rights. One of their main targets of attention are animals used for research.
Animals used in research most of the time are in miserable conditions. They are subjected to chemicals to test for cosmetics, exposed to drugs and infectious diseases that cause pain, misery and death, infliction of physical pain to study how brain physiology et cetera. (Humane Society) Most of these animals are mammals such as mice, rats, monkeys, guinea pigs, cats, dogs et etera. (Humane Society, PETA) It is also claimed that these animals are kept in constrained spaces without any enrichment, which leads of psychological disorders.
Source: https://www.intelligentliving.co/european-parliament-votes-to-phase-out-animal-testing/
The images of animal experimentation that are available online are so graphic that I do not feel comfortable putting most of them in this blog. At this point, we must ask, why do we need to experiment on animals?
The Need for Animal Experimentation
Before testing a new drug or treatment on humans, it is tested on animals to note for any side effects as well as its efficacy. Human life is considered precious and before we can test anything on them it is necessary that we ensure experimentally that the treatment does work on animals or that it does have immense side effects. For example, in 1993 more than a dozen women were blinded and one died using a cosmetic product called Lash Lure. (NIH) Another horrendous case that happened a few years later was of “Elixir Sulfanilamide”. It killed 107 people, mostly children. (NIH) The drug was made by making an antibacterial medicine sweet by adding a sweet substance. Unfortunately, ethylene glycol which was a component of Elixir formula poisons the kidneys.
Another reason why animal experimentation is considered necessary in scientific community is that results of a research rely on experimental data. More data means your research is stronger. Just because your treatments work on one primate does not ensure that it will be successful or won't cause side effects in others. This idea of replication was shown in the movie ‘Hollow Man’. (Verhoeven, 2000) When lead scientist Sebastian Cane saw that his experiment of invisibility and reappearance from invisibility worked for one chimp, he grew ambitious and tested it on himself, leading to him being stuck in the invisibility form. A single successful experiment in research means nothing until you can replicate the results. This was also shown in the movie ‘The Rise of the Planet of Apes’. (Wyatt, 2011) Dozens of chimps were experimented on with ALZ-12 and 13 compounds, a serum that they thought could cure Alzheimer's disease.
Source: (Wyatt, 2011)
More data in animal research means more animals are subjected to painful experiments, further supporting the argument against animal experimentation.
The Emotional Aspect
As a pet keeper myself, I understand that animals are not just mindless creatures. They interact and form relationships with you, the have personalities and dare I say, they even love you. Anyone who has ever kept a pet and loved it will most certainly always feel the emotional aspect to stand against or at least not support animal experimentation.
There is no doubt in the fact that animals feel pain. Animals do respond to pain via nursing their wounds, make noises to show distress and become reclusive. (TED-Ed, 2017) One must wonder if there are alternatives that completely eradicate animal experimentation?
Alternatives to Animal Experimentation
One way to eradicate human testing is using ‘In Vitro Testing’. Put briefly it includes organs and tissue cultures artificially grown in a lab on which tests can be conducted. (PETA) Computer models could also be used to test new drugs on computer modelled animals. This modelling was shown in Hollow Man, where the lead scientist Sebastian initially tested his compounds on a computer simulation before testing it on chimpanzees. (Verhoeven, 2000) Another solution could be micro-dosing where very small amounts of drugs are administered in humans to test for side effects and drug’s efficacy.
While all these methods sound good, given present technology they cannot fully substitute animal experimentation. In Vitro Testing cannot fully replicate the working of a being, such as inter organ reactions especially in connection to the central nervous system. Computer simulations are only good to some extent as it is very hard or near impossible to replicate a being’s model entirely in a simulation. The option of micro-dosing on humans is too risky.
The 3-R Principle
While many sources argue for eradication of animals used for research, we must understand that it is necessary. We as a species strive for survival and betterment of ourselves and at the moment, we find it necessary to use animals to help eradicate diseases and ensure our survival. This is where 3-R principle comes into play.
The 3-R principle revolves around minimizing animal harm while maximizing benefit to humans. Simply put, animal experiments are considered unethical if the benefit for humans outweigh the animal pain. EU and many other countries around the world have adopted this principle. (Tierversuche verstehen, 2017) 3-R stands for replacement, reduction and refinement. Replacement means that we try to move away from animals to the alternatives listed above when possible. Reduction means using as few animals as possible to prove point of research. Refinement means to improve research methods to minimize the harm done to animals.
Acknowledging that many animal experiments conducted around the globe are inhumane while also recognizing the need for animal experimentation, the 3-R principle seems the best option to minimize animal suffering as much as possible. The question of human life being more important than animals is a separate and more of a philosophical debate.
References:
Animal Testing: Animals Used in Experiments | PETA. (2021). Retrieved 30 November 2021, from https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/
About Animal Testing. (2021). Retrieved 30 November 2021, from https://www.hsi.org/news-media/about/#:~:text=Forced%20chemical%20exposure%20in%20toxicity,pain%20and%20distress%2C%20or%20death
Verhoeven, P. (2000). Hollow Man [Film]. United States: Columbia Pictures.
Wyatt, R. (2011). Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes [Film]. United States: 20th Century Fox.
TED-Ed (2017). Retrieved 27 November 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j9Syov0AAw
National Research Council (US) Committee to Update Science, A. (2021). Safety Testing. Retrieved 30 November 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK24645/
In Vitro Methods and More Animal Testing Alternatives | PETA. (2021). Retrieved 27 November 2021, from https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/alternatives-animal-testing/
The European Parliament Votes In Favor To Phase Out Animal Testing. Retrieved 17November 2021, from https://www.intelligentliving.co/european-parliament-votes-to-phase-out-animal-testing/
The 3R Principle: Replace Reduce Refine. (2017) Tierversuche verstehen. Retrieved 28November 2021, from The 3R Principle: Replace Reduce Refine
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