Who has not heard of Acuvue (Johnson & Johnson)? But what if you learn that this company along with some other companies uses a testing process that may kill or damage parts of an animal’s body?
The process mentioned above is known as animal testing also known as animal experimentation. It is the process where newly invented scientific cures or products are applied to animals. During this process, animals go through pain and many other discomforts. Dogs forcefully fed, rats forced to consume toxic things, or rabbits being injected with chemicals are included in animal testing.
The history of animal testing dates back to the 18th century when Louis Pasteur anthrax in sheep. Till now more than 115 million animals have undergone this process. Animals that are used are mainly vertebrates (In some cases invertebrates which are largely declined by law). The sectors that use animal testing are –
- Xenotransplantation
- Pure Research
- Applied Research
- Defense
- Education
- Drug Testing
- Cosmetics Testing
- Toxicology Testing
In the realm of modern science, there remains a dispute over whether animal testing should be banned or not. Those who are in favor of this have their reasons –
- Incurable diseases like polio and smallpox are being cured by animal testing.
- Baby products are tested on animals to see whether it is harmful to a baby or not.
- Researchers are helped by this process as they can get a clear understanding of diseases like diabetes, Parkinson’s, or high blood pressure.
- Toxic products are identified before injecting them into the human body.
- Dissection of frogs and cockroaches has been an ever-known classroom activity.
- Militaries use animals as weapons, vaccines, etc.
What about those who are inclined to the ethical side? In research of 2016 61, 31, and 9 were the percentage of animals respectively who suffered momentary pain, and discomfort that could be removed by anesthesia and were exposed to death or damages that could not be recovered. There remains ethical discussion as animals also feel pain and it is injustice to kill them in such a painful process. Moreover, animal testing is not unreliable. Eleven states such as New York, Virginia, Hawaii, etc have prohibited doing any kind of experiments on animals. According to Jane Goodall, animal experiments are ‘Morally Wrong and Unacceptable’. Moreover, animal testing costs one a fortune.
Now a question may arise – ‘Then what about toxicology and the cures? “ Researchers have found many alternatives to animal testing. Microchips are highly likely to work as they contain human cells in a 3D dimension that resembles human organs. In-silico is another process where compounds are investigated on a micro level. PET, microdosing, etc are also alternatives to animal testing.
The most known method is 3R’s –
- Replacement:
Here the processes include removal of the use of animals.
- Reduction :
During these processes, the focus remains on the reduction of the number of animals used in experiments.
- Refinement :
The main focus is to minimize pain, suffering, or distress enhancing animal welfare.
But the debate remains as the elimination of animal testing is a very big step and animal testing has been a conventional practice for more than a century.
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Writer,
Afsana Khanom Monika
Intern, Content Writing Department
YSSE