The Cruelty Of Animal Testing Essay Research

The Cruelty Of Animal Testing Essay, Research Paper

During the seventies, Americans fought against animal cruelty. Animal cruelty is still a major problem in today’s society. For many years we have been watching advertisements on television, then going out and buying that new shampoo, or facial cleanser that has those new revitalizing ingredients. Do we really know how the manufacturers came up with these ingredients, or the process that these products go through before they reach the supermarket or corner store shelf. During the seventies there were protests against animal testing. Through these protests animals began getting better treatment, but now it has been shoved under the carpet.

Some people believe that testing on animals will help them compete in the marketplace. Consumers are constantly demanding new and exciting ingredients in their products. Animal tests are often considered the easiest and cheapest way to “prove” the new ingredients are “safe”. Companies also can use the fact that their products were tested to help defend themselves from and in lawsuits. Most Americans apparently would find it a great legal and philosophical stretch to grant animals the same rights as humans. 20 percent donate to animal welfare organizations. A large majority, nearly 70 percent, according to some polls, approves of animal research, particularly if it advances medical sciences. The Congress of Technology Assessment estimates scientists use 17-22 million vertebrate animals a year in research, including 15 million rats and mice; 60,000 primates; 180,000 dogs, and 50,000 cats(Dietrich, A1). Animal testing comes in many different forms.

Vivisection is animal experimentation by burning, shocking, blinding, drugging, starving, irradiating, blinding and killing animals. Vivisection began because of religious prohibitions against the use of human corpses. The religious leaders finally removed these prohibitions but it was too late. Vivisection was already entrenched in medical and educational institutions(NEAVS).

The largest breeding company in the United States is Charles River Breeding Laboratories(CRBL). It is headquartered in Massachusetts and owned by Bausch and Lomb. It commands between 40-50 percent of the market for mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, rhesus monkeys, imported primates, and miniature swine(PETA, campaigns). The University of Washington was the worlds largest monkey nursery, with 150 infants, which you can find in the Health Sciences basement. Baboons that carry backpacks to monitor stress are among 450 primates on the seventh floor. Infected monkeys on that floor are used to test Aids Drugs(Dietrich, A1). Since the University of Washington was unable to get a renewal grant for the federal government. It had to move more that 1,200 primates to Louisiana, Oregon and Seattle. Animal studies range from benign to unpleasant. They go from observing bird intelligence in aviaries to using pistons to crack the skulls of rats. This is used so that Harborview Medical Center researchers can learn to cope with human head traumas. Research animals are used to test drugs and vaccines, pioneer medical procedures, determine poisonous doses, indicate which products in animals might cause cancer, test cosmetics, toiletries and household cleaners. Animals are also used to study the behavior that ultimately influences human psychology. Much of the human benefit comes at a price to animals. For instance, an estimated 1-5 million monkeys died in the hunt for the oral polio vaccine. In the last few years there has been no shortage of horror stories about laboratory cruelties with dubious benefit. Thus resulting in a complex thicket of laws, regulations, and oversight committees(Dietrich, A1).

In the 60’s, Harlow isolated monkeys in cone shaped enclosures he theatrically called “pits of despair”. The purpose of this particular experiment was to drive the monkey insane. This is only one of many examples of animal cruelty by scientists. After a visit to one of the laboratories Kenneth Burrell said that the,

“Researchers ordinarily use something similar to a Q-tip to swab toothpaste on the teeth of lab rats, brushing the two big incisors up front and the molars on each side”.(Ahrens, C1)

Since rat saliva is not all that different to humans. At the end of the tests the rats are killed and their jaws cut off so their teeth can be viewed under a microscope. This is how most toothpastes today are tested.

Jay Tokasz wrote in one of his articles about how rabbits blood is drawn to be tested. He said,

“An animal technician grabs the ear of the Giani Flemmish and chinchilla crossbreed rabbit, and then sticks it with a needle. The technician then begins to draw 10 milliliters of blood. After the animal is stuffed into a small metal contraption, so it won’t move, or harm itself. The flow of blood swells the ear, and turns the ear purple. A grotesque sight.”

These tests are an example of how cruel science can be. It can range from drawing blood from a rabbit to actually killing an animal like a rat, to test a product before it is put on the market. The conditions these animals live in their whole lives are inhumane. Behind the corridor’s door are rooms in which rabbits cages are stacked up in tiers like an apartment complex. In their rooms rats lie sluggishly in clear plastic tubs. Collies bred to mimic a rare hum