Animals In Laboratory Research

Using animals for laboratory research is not new: European researchers first began large scale animal experimentation in the nineteenth century. Today, the use of animals in experiments is so widespread and so uncontrolled that no one is certain of the exact number of animals being used. Estimates range from between 30 million animals per year to 100 million (Stevens 39). What is known for certain is that animals are suffering a great deal of pain and premature death during the experiments. Sometimes, the tests themselves are suspect, meaning that animals are being sacrificed for no apparent reason. Companies have arisen specifically for the purpose of providing animals for research purposes, bringing with them questionable business practices and leaving behind the welfare of the animals in question. This paper focuses on the issue of using animals in experimentation, including a brief history of the process, how animals are used today, and what can be done to curtail the unnecessary killing and maiming of animals.

Demonstrations against animal experimentation began almost as soon as did widespread use of the procedure. England was the site of the most vocal protest, and the anti-animal experimenters can be divided into two groups. The first group were the antivivisectionists. These individuals were opposed to any animal research on the grounds that the pain inflicted on another living creature was itself revolting, and that humanity as a whole was degraded by the

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ion whether the human need for research is not overstated. Those seeking reform in this area suggest that the animals be subject to smaller amounts of the product, or that analgesics be administered to alleviate the pain. In recent years, use of the LD-50 test has decreased, and the Draize test has come under increased scrutiny. That the tests were carried out for so long even though they were questioned even by members of the scientific community, suggests the high level of participation necessary by opponents of such testing. In fact, opponents of animal research have had some victories. During the late 1940s and 1950s, several states and local communities passed legislation requiring animal shelters to release unclaimed animals for use by research organizations. The justification for this is that putting the animals to death at the shelter cost taxpayers money. By giving the animals to research, the shelter was relieved of the financial burden. The moral argument was that since the animals were destined to die, anyway, they might as well be used for research. Critics of this practice saw a moral inconsistency between the goal of reducing the suffering of unwanted animals and providing, minimally, a relatively painle

Category: Science - A