Animal Rights Essay Research Paper Do all

Animal Rights Essay, Research Paper

Do all animals have the same rights as humans. Some but not all, animal rights

activists believe animals have inherent legal and moral rights, just as humans do.

According to this viewpoint it is unethical to use animals for any purpose,

whether for pets, research, recreation, clothing, or as food (Press 17). Animal

use in testing is a huge controversial issue. Some believe animals have the same

rights as humans and should for no reason be used as test subjects for research.

Others, including members of medical and scientific communities say it is

unethical not to use animals in research because animal experiments can lead to

medical discoveries that improve the health and well-being of both humans and

animals (Leepson 304). Human health will not improve without animal

experimentation.

There is of course two sides to this issue. Worldwide, animals are used in

numerous experiments which inflict pain and suffering to the animal. The first

testing of animals started over one hundred years ago. Since then, animal

testing has been a source of emotional conflict for humans. In 1966, the Animal

Welfare Act took place (307). This was the start of the animal rights movement.

Over the years, animal activists have become increasingly vocal and/or

destructive. The ways in which animal activists try to get their message across

to the public varies greatly. Some conduct letter-writing campaigns, others

attack laboratories and harass scientists (Green 204) One of these groups is the

PETA founded in 1980 by Alex Pacheco and Ingrid Newkirk. PETA stands for

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The group works on a wide range of

issues such as biochemical testing, cosmetic testing, dissection, factory farming,

neglect and abuse to animals in pet stores, and through hunting and trapping,

and the wearing of fur, and non-leather footwear (Masci 686). The PETA is not

known to be a violent group. Instead it often pulls public stunts. For example

three members dressed in rabbit suits and chained themselves to a flagpole in

front of Gillette head quarters in Boston, Mass. to protest the company s use of

animals in product testing. The stunt was an embarrassment to the company.

While PETA may be the most visible animal rights group, it is by no means alone.

There are dozens of rights groups who pursue a more far-reaching agenda.

One of these groups is the ALF, Animal Liberation Front. This group emerged in

the United States in the late 1970 s and has claimed responsibility for destroying

or damaging more than one hundred labs and farms around the nation (686).

In a world of animal testing there are a wide range of tests. These tests are

done for multiple purposes, from finding a cure for a disease to testing the

harshness of a shampoo or floor cleaner. Many activists claim that animal

testing is not only unethical but also often scientifically unproductive.

There have been some medical advances of course but the pay off

is slight. When you re doing billions of animal experiments, it would

be a miracle if there weren t some developments, says George

Cave an animal activist.

When Dr. Hamm was told what George Cave said, Hamm came back with a

strong argument. He discused how childhood leukemia, used to be a death

sentence but now those kids get to go home. He also discussed Hodgkin s

disease and how it is now a treatable cancer when ten years ago it was also a

death sentence. Another argument he stated was how we can treat some types

of liver cancer today and the research that got us there was done on animals

because it had to be. There are no other alternatives exist that could give us this

progress (Green 204).

One species that humans tend to use often in testing because they are

most like ourselves is the chimpanzee. They are used in different experiments.

Because chimpanzees are more like humans than any other species they are

popular subjects for the development of vaccines for prevention of hepatitis B,

hepatitis C and onchocerciasis. Chimpanzees are the only nonhuman animal

species susceptible to these infections (Prince 115). Animal Activists are against

the use of chimpanzees b/c of the decline in the chimpanzee population. In

approximately the past ten years the chimpanzee population of Gabon,

containing some of the best habitats, was reduced by twenty percent. There is

an estimate between four thousand and five thousand chimpanzees that exist

worldwide in medical institutions, zoological exhibits, roadside menageries,

entertainment compounds and homes of per owners. In the United States about

two thousand of three thousand confined chimpanzees exist in biochemical

facilities (Teleki 119).

Although chimpanzees are the closest in relation to humans many

different animals are used in research. The treatment of these animals i

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