Discussion: Animal Experiments - For It or Against It?

The Hangout Discuss
,
1

Hello, everyone.
Today, I decided to bring up the issue of animal experiments done in the framework of studies in biology, medical science, the environment and so on.
My question is: should these experiments be done? Or be banned?
As you know, the issue is controversial. On the one hand, the ones who support these animal experiments claim that humanity has achieved its medical achievements thanks to these experiments. Examples of experiments that have benefited the medical field include: vaccines against diseases (such as polio, measles), drugs, disease research and organ transplants. On the other hand, the ones who are against these experiments consider them as animal abuse, that animals are not tools intended for human use, etc.

I personally think that these experiments definitely shouldn’t be done. Allow me to elaborate my answer to the question that arises from the issue:

So, as the mentioned claim says, using animals for some scientific/medical experiment is animal abuse. These experiments bring to the tested animals’ death. Many, and I mean many animals have been tortured and killed from these horrible experiments. And what for? For medical solutions, scientific solutions, even for some dumb cosmetic products. Maybe some of you think that it’s totally okay if these cruel animal experiments are done for medical reasons, but it is also selfish when I think about it. Should other beings suffer and die, so we will be able to get what we want for our own needs? It is really selfish, if you ask me. It’s like someone coming and asking another person to jump into a very deep water from a high place to make sure it’s safe. What do you think could happen if it the another person did it?
Think logically - do you think it’s okay if they ruin an animal’s health for a stupid mascara, or shampoo, or creams?
Besides, many important breakthroughs in medicine have been delayed due to misleading information from animal experiments.
And there are physiological and genetic differences between humans and animals, and they are reflected in the fact that they were many times that many drugs proven to be safe and effective in animal experiments were discovered to be dangerous and/or ineffective.
Moreover, after finishing an animal experiment, the next thing that happens is either the animals die or are being killed (if they survive after the experiment)!
Why should animals die for daily products? Isn’t it more than enough that animals are being killed for food? And at all - why should they die for money? They are many ways to earn money, so killing animals isn’t necessary for that.

I think these experiments should be stopped. I don’t want animals to suffer anymore :pensive:. Period. You cannot convice me otherwise.

So, I am asking you again: Do you think these accursed experiments should go on? Are you for it or against it? And why?

Please keep your comments respectful. I am stating my opinion on this issue - you don’t have to agree with my opinion as we are all free to speak our mind, so I am not coming after anyone. But, please no inappropriate language, and stay on topic.
Thank you

7 Likes
2

Against. There are plenty of people who can do it for money 🤷

5 Likes
3

Against. Pump that crap into a person. You make it, you test it. At least you can say stop, and tell someone what it’s doing.

3 Likes
4

I honestly don’t know but I think I’m more on the against animal testing side even though I don’t really like some animals like rats.
I strongly think that they should start testing on paedophiles, rapists, sexual predators etc. Besides it would be better to have results from actual bodies that are exactly the same as or extremely similar to those that are actually going to use the products.

4 Likes
5

I think honestly, for medical reasons it’s crucial. I honestly think that human life is invaluable and call me cruel but testing on animals is a way to preserve that life. I don’t mean they should do it for no reason, but I’m not against it. For medical reasons of course. Think of any sickness you’ve had, some of those, if it wasn’t for the testing you wouldn’t be able to argue for what your right now. Of course it may seem cruel but cancer drugs, vaccinations should be tested before being applied to the person. Then again it’s my personal opinion.

3 Likes
6

We can use humans or other technologies to test things now: this isn’t 1841.

I’m not as anti-test as I was before, but if I know a brand animal tests, I won’t use it :kissing_smiling_eyes:

2 Likes
7

At the same time though, life itself is invaluable, animals included. It’s not just testing on the animals, it’s trial and error, throughout that process, the animals are the ones that suffer.
Why should an animal’s life be sacrificed for a trial. They are just as precious.

7 Likes
8

I was raised on different beliefs so I’m going to disagree on that. I think human life is the most invaluable and call me cruel but animals are here for our survival. We kill them for beauty of what they have, food, or trials. Doesnt mean we should overabuse them and start random trials hurting them just for the fun of it, but we use them to preserve the human race. Their sacrifice is appreciated however I think testing it on humans, even those who have done wrong is not quite right. The predator will always seem to be the monster to the prey. In this case humans are the predators and the prey are the animals.

2 Likes
9

Okay, your belief, respectfully I wholeheartedly disagree with it. I think the mentality to look at a harmless and defenseless animal and think of it as nothing more than a means to an end, a tool to benefit a human, is a disgusting idea. They can’t stop you from doing it to them, they can’t speak up, plead or beg, they are treated as an object and that their life isn’t worth anything. It’s torture and if it was done to a human, people would find it unforgiveable. To me, to do it to an animal is the same, sometimes even worse as unlike a human, they can’t defend themselves.
All life is precious, and animals deserve to be protected.

5 Likes
10

That’s not exactly what I mean. Let me explain: If it became to testing a dangerous drug on a human or animal I will choose animal 98% of the time. There are only so many options, and this is one of the hard ones. I’m saying I value human life above all others may seem cruel but I was taught that way and it’ll be very hard to shake that fact.

2 Likes
11

It actually is exactly what you mean. You would use the animal as a tool to test that drug to see if it would be safe for you to use. If it killed the animal you would say no and try again until it was safe for you.
I know you are saying you value human life above all others, you made that clear. I don’t believe you want to shake that, if it’s your belief then fine.
But what I said before is still my view on your belief that animals are pretty much a tool to you to preserve humans.
If someone showed me an animal and had three drugs that were high risk, and asked me whether I wanted to test them or have an animal test them, to save my life, I wouldn’t hesitate, I’d do it, or I’d leave it. I wouldn’t let them touch that animal.

4 Likes
12

I would. And I suppose that may seem mean to other people. And I won’t try to justify my reasons as it seems we’ve reached a disagreeing point. Thanks for being respectful about it.

1 Like
13

For me it depends. If it’s for something serious with no other way to test it then I would say to test it on an animal as long as they monitor the animal and make sure it gets help if it reacts badly to whatever they are testing it for. But for most circumstances, I say that we shouldn’t be testing these things on animals- there’s probably another, better way to do it!

2 Likes
14

Would you use medications that have been created by testing on animals or attempt to talk family members out of using medications that were tested on animals in order to take a stand on what you believe?

I’m very unsure about this topic and dont have a clear opinion. I dont think animals lives are less valuable. I also dont want to test on humans. It’s like, kill few to save a lot… would you? (Not directed at Chey)
Tough decision.
I don’t think cosmetics should ever be tested on animals.

4 Likes
15

I’ve keeping up to date but haven’t joined in because my opinion here is equally murky. I love animals more than people, but… Yeah. Murk.

Thank you for putting it so eloquently

2 Likes
16

I would never try to talk anyone else out of doing anything really, it’s not my place to and it’s not my life, of course I’m not innocent, I daresay I have used medicines that were tested on animals, many times when I was younger for instance. In my life I have had plenty of medical brushes where I’ve probably had to have that medicine, I was rushed to hospital barely able to breathe before, they had to use medication, I’ve had injuries and things that have required heavy pain meds, I’ve been given sleeping pills etc, all of these are probably along that line of testing, but I do not know which ones if not all or none of these particular drugs, yet I do not agree with the process. It’s not something that needs to continue, and I wouldn’t actively choose it regardless.

3 Likes
17

Since it seems I’ve offended people, I apologize.

1 Like
18

I’m 100% against animal testing. It’s useless most of the time, cruel and ineffective

That won’t ever happen. Giving the animal treatment when it reacts badly would ruin the whole experiment. The animal is left to suffer for whoever is testing whatever crap they’re testing on them to analyze the damage that the tested product creates.

And no, animal testing isn’t done just on rats and other rodents you hate, check these things out.

Here are a couple more reasons why animal testing is awful if you’re not convinced yet:

  • Pain is the same for every animal. If you feel it, they feel it too

  • You can’t apply the results to humans, so why do it in the first place?

  • If you know something for sure, why do you still need to test it on an animal? To be extra sure? (for example, we know cigarettes are dangerous, but we still force dogs and monkeys to smoke so we can see the results. Why?!)

  • 90% of drugs fail in human trials despite promising results in animal tests

  • Animals do not get many of the diseases we do, such as Parkinson’s disease, some types of heart disease, many types of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and schizophrenia

  • Many things that are toxic for animals aren’t toxic for humans and vice-versa (for example Aspirin is toxic to cats, mice, and rats and would not be sold if it had been tested according to current animal testing standards. On the other hand, the species of monkey that’s most commonly used in drug testing (macaque monkeys), are immune to doses of paracetamol that would be deadly to humans)

And to finish this, here are some cases of animal testing failing:

  • A drug used to treat arthritis called Vioxx was found to be safe when tested on monkeys and five other animal species but has caused around 320,000 heart attacks and strokes and 140,000 deaths worldwide

  • Human volunteers testing a new monoclonal antibody treatment suffered a severe allergic reaction and nearly died. Testing on monkeys at 500 times the dose given to the volunteers totally failed to predict the dangerous side effects.

  • A recent drug trial in France resulted in the death of one volunteer and left four others severely brain-damaged in 2016. The drug, which was intended to treat a wide range of conditions including anxiety and Parkinson’s disease, was tested in four different species of animals (mice, rats, dogs, and monkeys) before being given to humans.

1 Like
19

This is wrong on so many levels.

  1. You do not need meat to survive
  2. Killing animals for meat is just as cruel as testing drugs on them. Also, the meat industry does more bad then it does good

Nope, crap we know for sure is still being tested on thousands of animals.

How did you jump from what @Cheyara_M said to that? No one will ever test anything on babies. That we can all agree on. And it’s never just one dog. The number of animals killed in animal testing is probably double the number of people that benefit from that testing

Most of these can easily be replaced with cruelty-free alternatives. Also, why is cotton up there? It’s a freaking plant

2 Likes
20

Okay considering that I was respectful of your belief and we then came to an end on that discussion, this is pretty disrespectful to circle round and come back on my beliefs to attack them here, but you know what, fine.
I’ll address them.

You make it, you test it. Did I say give it to a sick kid?.. No. Did I say give it to a baby? … No. I said pump it into a person. You’re making it for a human, have a human test it. Absolutely yes I don’t want to hurt a puppy or a bunny. I don’t care what you or anyone else thinks about that decision of mine People are working in labs to finalise medicine for a human use. Use a human to test it. If it’s too dangerous… don’t test it.
If you have a pet, would you hand it over to be killed to save you? If you say yes, that is heartbreaking and disgusting to me. The same as my opinion disgusts you. I am not sorry for it.

I am not talking about meat consumption, do I like that? no… do I eat meat, yes, I was raised eating meat. Do I wish I had the impulse control to be a vegetarian, yes. As hypocritical as that may be. It’s not what’s being discussed here. Testing on an animal is a process, a torturous process. Killing an animal for meat, the majority isn’t the same method, death being instant, however I wish to not discuss that further as it’s a sad topic, I hope you can at least manage enough respect to just leave that topic there alone and not bring it up any further with me please.

How is that the lives of many people? That’s one baby or one puppy. Not many people, one person. Not to mention whoever left their baby on the tracks, fantastic parenting. I can’t say what I would do. It would be the situation, I don’t want to even think about it to be honest, it’s a messed up thought and one I don’t wish to touch on. Both lives are equal to me, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself for letting down either one. As I said before neither life is worth more to me. I’d rather risk my own life to save both.

Again you are throwing more things my way that I am not in those situations, my opinions are based on my life here, also you are being really rather rude towards my opinion. To be honest I am neither sorry, nor do I care if my opinion bothers you. The same as you don’t care about yours bothering me. Difference is I have respected that you have a different opinion than me whereas you are attacking mine.
Tell me at what point when I was a little girl and didn’t know anything about medicines, was I supposed to say, did this medicine hurt an animal? If so please do not administer it.
Do not tell me that I don’t “walk it how I talk it” I was a child.
You have no right to tear at people’s beliefs this way when they haven’t torn yours apart. It’s really pretty rude and shows a lack of mutual respect. I don’t have to take anything into account when I talk about my belief in something. I have taken into account what I wish to take into account based on my main principle. A life is a life to me, animal or human. I would not throw one under the bus for the other. You would, fine. Your choice. Don’t expect me to say I would. I love animals and have gone through plenty with the ones I am blessed to have had in my life, I see them as precious too and no matter what anyone says to me, no one can tell me that their lives don’t mean as much as the humans in my life.

4 Likes