Essay on Animal Testing: Vital Necessity or Cruelty?

 

As a rule, animal testing essays examine the arguments either in favor or against animal experimentation. The following paper does not pursue a goal of persuading the public that animal testing is wrong or right. It is neither pro animal testing essay, nor an essay against animal testing. Some essays on animal testing are trying to emphasize that animal experimentation is against morality and should not be practiced at all costs. In the following argumentative essay animal testing is examined from both perspectives showing that there are reasons to protect animals from unjustified violence and cruelty, and at the same time there are reasons for proceeding with making experiments on animals. The current animal testing persuasive essay pursues a goal of making the public aware of the threats and opportunities associated with non-human experimentation. Unlike against animal testing essay, the current essay on animal testing will not defend only one position, but rather examine the topic from both sides of the question in order to come to a well-grounded conclusion as for why animal testing should be stopped or carried on with.

The argumentative essay on animal testing presented below reflects an idea that scientists use animals for the purpose of examining the effectiveness of certain medications along with their side effects and this consequently leads to the medical advancement. However, the current persuasive essay on animal testing does not stop at this point and provides a number of counter arguments. The following animal testing essay is also an attempt to examine why some people perceive animal experimentation as similar to the experiments conducted on humans. The animal testing argumentative essay below will start from analyzing the pros of animal testing as a way to advance in the medical field and make a number of valuable discoveries for the benefit of the humanity.

Pros:

  • Animal testing helps scientists to find new medications and means of disease treatment. This is the major argument in favor of animal testing as mentioned above. It helps to improve health and make advancements in the medical field by discovering new drugs and medications that are likely to help people get cured from a number of previously incurable diseases. A number of medical means of treatment have become possible due to animal testing. This includes cancer and HIV treatment as well as such drugs as antibiotics, insulin and various vaccines.
  • Another positive side of animal testing is interrelated with the previous one. Animal testing is perceived as vital for the humanity because it leads to the improvement of people’s health. That is why it is widely supported by scientists and public workers. There are also those who are against animal testing used for the production of cosmetics, but as for the medical purposes and the development of new medications, animal testing is considered essential.
  • Animal testing also helps to guarantee the safety of medications. It is an important aspect, because medications might contain various harmful substances and animal experimentation helps to check whether every component of the drugs is safe for people. Drugs can be dangerous, so that animal testing allows researchers to conduct trials before drugs are permitted to be safely used by humans. This means that the harm caused to humans can be reduced and numerous human lives can be saved. This consequently leads to the improvement of the quality of people’s life.
  • Besides, it has been proved that some other methods of testing similar to animal experimentation do not work the same way. Scientists usually choose animals for testing because they are regarded as being similar to humans. However, researchers are aware of restrictions and differences between animal and human testing. At the same time, animals are considered the best match because the data obtained can be later applied to humans.

Cons:

  • One of the negative sides of animal testing is the fact that in the process animals are kept in captivity and killed. Numerous animals are used to conduct experiments and are then killed after the testing procedure. Other animals are heavily injured and the remainder has to live in captivity. Such cruelty towards animals cannot be justified, although some people claim that it is all done for the greater good.
  • One more drawback of animal testing is that some of the substances and components tested on animals might never be used for anything valuable. Many animals are doomed to death simply because scientists want to learn the properties of this or that substance, which might turn to be of no value at all. Many people view this aspect as a major drawback of the animal testing practice, as it seems that the animals have to die for no particular purpose, bringing no benefit to people.
  • Furthermore, animal testing is an expensive procedure. The price is another drawback, because animal testing usually costs huge amounts of money due to the fact that animals have to be cared for, fed and housed let alone treated with medications or experimental drugs. What is more animal testing can take a long period of time, so that additional costs have to be invested. The price of animals must also be considered. There are certain companies that are engaged in breeding animals for testing, but purchasing them is quite expensive.
  • Finally, it is widely assumed that humans and animals have little in common despite some similarities. There is an argument that the reaction of a medication in the body of an animal is rather different from the reaction of the drugs in a human body. The major critical point is that animal testing should be perceived as unreliable due to the differences between humans and animals. Besides, animals are kept in the unnatural surroundings and are constantly suffering from stress. That is why they do not react to the medications in the same way as those that live in natural environment. This assumption underlines the unreliability of animal testing as a way to find out the properties of various drugs.

To conclude, although there is plenty of pros and cons of animal experimentation, the moral and ethical aspects overshadow both drawbacks and benefits of this procedure. The emotional factor determines whether people believe in the positive sides of animal experimentation more than in the challenges associated with this procedure.

Did you like the essay? You can purchase one on our website. Have an enjoyable experience with a professional online writing service!