Answer:
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Step-by-step explanation:
Animal testing is necessary because alternative methods are currently not as reliable. The reason why animals are used in testing products that will be used by humans is the physical make-up of animals that has a great degree of resemblance to that of the human body. This physical resemblance enables scientists and researchers to gather biological data and information that are needed for developing medicines. This biological information also happens to be unavailable in plants and while there have been recent development in the use of non-animal methods such as computer modeling, and in vitro and genetic research, these methods were not developed to replace animal research but simply to supplement it (Trull, 2002, p. 45). Moreover, these non- animal methods are still being developed which necessitates that testings must continue to be done to an intact living system which is an animal (Guither, 1998, p. 80). In addition to this, there has been difficulty in the scientific community as to finding competent, safe and reliable alternatives to animal tests. This is because it takes several years to validate alternative methods and those methods that are currently available were developed without using the latest technology (Daston & Mcnamee, 2005). Thus, the use of animals to determine the effectiveness, toxic level and possible side effects of drugs, cosmetics and other products remains to be the primary and most reliable method that is available today.
Animal testing is necessary to secure humans from unsafe and dangerous medications and products. Animals are not only used to test the effectiveness of new medications and products. They are also used to check the safety of products so no human users will be harmed when using them. If products are sold in the market without being tested on animals, users of these products which range from medicines, cosmetics and household products are put in danger. Products that have not undergone animal testing are generally considered as unsafe and may imperil the lives of their users. This is demonstrated by several medical tragedies that have
occurred because humans have used products and substances that were not used first or experimented on animals. In the 1930’s, for example, a number of women lost their vision and at least one was reported to have died for using an eye mascara that contains a substance that can cause corneal ulceration in the eyes of its users (“The Care of Use”, 2002). The substance called p-phenylenediamine was not tested on animals. Another tragedy which happened because no animal testing was conducted was the case of an antibacterial medicine that was dissolved in an antifreeze. The medicine was marketed without prior animal tests and since antifreeze is toxic, the medicine has resulted in the death of 107 people (“The Care of Use”, 2002). Animal testing therefore guarantees the safety of using drugs and similar products.
Animal testing is necessary because it is unethical and dangerous to experiment with untested substances using humans. The welfare of humans and human life are more important and valuable than that of any animal. This is the reason why it is unethical and dangerous to use humans to test new drugs and substances. By using animals in research and experiments, medical researchers will be able to determine the safety and effectiveness of medicines and other products without risking the lives and safety of human subjects. This explains why animal test results on new drugs have to be evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “to determine whether the drug is safe enough to test in humans and, if so–after all human testing is completed –to decide whether the drug can be sold to the public” (Cohn, 1987). By trying on potential substances and formula on animals, researchers will also be able to determine the harmful side effects of medicines and similar products they are experimenting on. If tested products were found safe and effective, they can be used by humans. If animals are not used to determine the safety and effectiveness of products, humans will be obliged to try them which may have disastrous and dangerous consequences. Government regulations therefore necessitates that substances should be tested on animals first before trying them on humans. The importance in the use of animals in preliminary experiments and research is currently evident in
the development of medicines for AIDS. A substances that is suspected of being potential in curing the disease is tested first on animals “to find out how it works in the body, what unwanted side effects it can cause, and if it is effective against the illness” (Segal, 1987).