Animal testing put millions of animals under pressure to survive in isolated, pain-invoking, and fearful conditions in the guise of researching to develop biochemical solutions to problems affecting people. Using animals to test different scientific concepts includes cruel treatments such as poisoning, infecting, burning, and killing animal specimens and recording their responses. The methods are archaic, and animal rights violations qualify to charge the scientists and their institutions for felonies. We need to adopt sustainable practices of developing medicine without exposing innocent animals to unnecessary turmoil. These are some essential points to save animals from torture.
Animal Testing Harms Animals
The animals used in such tests are injected with the drug prototypes without any protective measures to prevent death or suffering. Some experiments are so cruel that the animals turn blind, fail to eat, and their lives are never reversible after the experiments. Animals such as monkeys naturally live in the wild, and holding them captive in cages for tests affects the species’ survival. Animal cruelty laws should apply to all organisms, and the government remains silent as scientists hurt animals.
Wasteful in Time and Resources
Animal testing does not provide reliable scientific information because human DNA is different from other species in experiments. About 95% of the laboratory experiments on animals to develop cures for human diseases are discarded for inefficiency, but the animals perish. Large sums of money find their way into institutions funding animal testing, although the stakeholders are not held accountable for the animals’ lives or the time they spend researching. The wasteful approach can be replaced with more technologically savvy ideas.
There Exist More Reliable Alternatives
Advanced scientific innovations provide modern techniques such as organs-on-chips, human-patient simulators, human-based microdosing, and in vitro technology. The new methods are cheaper in financial budgets and time-consuming because observations are more accessible and efficient. Animal testing involves many errors and confusion since the organisms could have evolutional mechanisms to overcome the induced conditions differently from human beings. Modern approaches include 3D printing to understand human cells and simulate them accurately under realistic conditions.
The Drug Tests are Unsafe
The first victims of unsafe drug tests are the animals induced with different conditions to evaluate the impact of prototype chemicals. The ineffective drugs further cause problems when human tests are applied even after showing the desired effects in animals. Examples of unsafe drugs are the thalidomide sleeping pill and the drug Vioxx for arthritis. The two drugs were cleared as safe on the animal specimen, but they caused severe birth deformities and heart attacks in human users.
Misleading Conclusions
Animal tests are inconclusive because they require further evaluations to make impactful resolutions in human treatment. Challenges arise when there are promising findings in animal tests, and shifts in focus can derail other research works leading to successful drugs. The information on effective animal drugs misleads other studies if they are cited and used to inform major decisions. People can abandon effective and proven medicines in favor of new ones promising better results and end up undermining the healing process.
The Methods Disconnect from Reality
The conditions for testing animals are severe, and humans do not experience similar situations. Some animals are fed forcefully, deprived of vital oxygen and water, and inflicted with wounds. The studies on healing and survival capabilities push the animals to extreme ends that people do not experience. Besides, the animals’ physiological features are different from the human anatomy, and even positive results are used hypothetically in the case of human beings.
Vaccines can Test in Humans
Scientists can skip the step of testing drugs on animals and seek people who consent to participate in safety tests. Animals do not agree to be in harsh conditions, but people can understand the terms and get the necessary help if there are problems. Furthermore, using synthetic copies to test the drugs was successful when making Covid-19 vaccines, and the approach should continue. Testing drugs on people increases accuracy by avoiding errors seen in animal specimens.
Increasing Public Outcry Against Cruelty
More people oppose the harsh treatment of various animals, and selective buying of cruelty-free products will force companies to use other testing methods. Many information sources show different forms of suffering as animals live in daunting conditions awaiting tests. The backlash against animal tests informs stakeholders that governments and consumers are shifting toward more animal-friendly operations so that change is inevitable. Consumers of cosmetics and beauty products actively reject products that indicate animal testing procedures due to their unethical nature.
Animal Tests Lack Transparency
The number of animals in laboratories is not adequately accounted for, and many die without providing the intended results. The practice should be banned due to inadequate procedures to ensure researchers adopt new and efficient methods to find reliable data on drugs and treatment operations. There are unforeseen technical challenges in experiments, and risking animal lives instead of using safer approaches is unnecessary. Scientists can achieve more consistency and accountability for their resources using software systems and replicated human cells than the animals held in cages.
Inadequate Animal Protection Measures
The Animal Welfare Act has not effectively implemented and reinforced laws protecting animals in laboratory settings. Some animals, such as chimpanzees, are subject to psychological stress due to confinement and induced pain that affects their development. Animals that survive the tests are not viable for other experiments, but the legal provisions to protect them are not followed to improve safety standards. Using new technology to determine specific drug effects is efficient because the cells are artificial and designed to replicate natural features.
Conclusion
Animal testing has contributed to biomedical development in human history since 500 BC, but newer and sustainable methods have come of age. Science can continue changing lives by embracing different ways that reduce the number of animals needed to complete experiments. Besides, laboratory experiments can efficiently test and verify data through the computerized monitoring of human cells in test tubes. Animals have feelings and emotional concerns that we should respect and protect in their domestic or natural settings.