The Truth About Animal Testing Kate H.
How many times have you heard the term “animal testing?” Most everyone has heard it before, but few people know what it actually means and what it involves. What exactly is animal testing?
Animal testing is an extremely contro-
versial topic, and people have all kinds of different views on it. Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation or animal research, is the use of non-human animals in experiments. Sometimes the research only involves observing an animal or changing the animal’s diet, but many experiments are also performed on living animals for research to assess the effectiveness and safety of medication and products like cosmetics, household cleaners, and chemicals. According to hsi.org, “all procedures, even those classified as ‘mild,’ have the potential to cause the animals physical as well as psychological distress and suffering.” Some animals are reused, but many animals are killed at the end of an experiment. The most commonly used animals are mice, fish, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, farm animals, birds, cats, dogs, minipigs, and non-human primates such as chimpanzees, apes, gorillas, lemurs, and orangutans. Laboratory mice, rats, and birds, which make up about 95% of all animals tested, are excluded from the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). This act regulates and limits many aspects of animal research. While many companies sell products that have been tested on animals, many companies, such as Lush Cosmetics, do not test any of their products on animals.
Why does animal testing happen?
Animal research is done in order to find out the effects of procedures, products, or changes in diet or environment on a complete, intact, and living body. According to animalresearch.info, “It is difficult, and in most cases simply not yet possible, to replace the use of living animals in research with alternative methods.” Animal testing began in 1938, when Congress passed the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act due to public outrage after many terrible accidents caused by untested products. More than a dozen women in the 1930s went blind after using a mascara called Lash Lure which was made with a chemical that burned skin. One woman even died from infection because of her dreadful burns. Over 100 people died due to consumption of a cough syrup with the name of Elixir Sulfanilamide because the medicine was dissolved in a toxic liquid. Law in the United States has required the use of animal experimentation to test the safety of medication, toiletries, and cosmetics ever since. Animal testing is considered relevant because humans and animals have a lot in common. Surprisingly, mice and humans share more than ninety-five percent of their genes, and get many of the same diseases. Chimpanzees share 99% of their DNA with humans. Also, non-human mammals share the same basic organs that function in the same way as humans, and humans and mammals both have a heart, lungs, and a liver.