Reliable is usually described as being trusted and accurate. Yet, how can you trust invalid comparisons? Humans and rabbits are not the same. Rabbits’ eyes, for example, have a thinner cornea, a third eyelid, and they also produce fewer tears to wash away any toxins (Problems with Skin…). So, when a test is conducted they are only measuring the animals’ reaction not a person’s reaction. Likewise, compounds that cause no harm to animals might be dangerous for humans, and vice versa (Maria Liberty). Unless the companies were to start experiments using tissues samples from humans, they’ll never have truly accurate results. According to Jerome Burne, ‘The problem is not a new one, in fact it is blindingly obvious- animals are not the same as humans’. If the government were to ban the animal testing then the results gained from new studies would be more faithful.
To fully understand the extent of cosmetic testing, you need to know the tests they perform. There are three main tests that determine the level of skin irritancy, eye tissue damage, and toxicity. The first test is the is the skin irritancy test, in this test they inject chemicals under the skin of mainly rabbits and mice. The Draize test is much more brutal, this is when they measure the eye tissue damage. To do so they place burning substances in the eyes of conscious rabbits, unfortunately the rabbits often break their necks or backs trying to escape (idausa.org). Shocking as it is, both of those tests cannot compare with the lethal dosage test. The whole purpose of this test is to how much of a poison will a certain amount of animals. The animals are forced to ingest the poisons through various ways, including: stomach tubes, vapor spray inhalers, and injection. In order to protect these animals, there should be ban on cosmetic animal testing.
Not only do the cosmetic companies use unreliable and inhumane methods, but also they cause so much unnecessary pain to animals that had no choice in the matter. So what are the animals forced to endure? The most common reactions to lethal dosage is convulsions, paralysis, as well as bleeding from the eyes, nose, mouth, or rectum (animalalliance.ca). Some argue that this is a price they’ll pay for an effective drug. However, even after a drug or cosmetic has been declared safe, it might not be. For example, Opren it killed 61 people after being named ‘safe’ (Jerome Burne). So why should these tests be continued if they only cause pain and do not apply directly to people?
Cosmetic animal testing doesn’t benefit the health of people, nor does it teach us anything about humans. That is why the government should stop the testing, that way scientists could examine the options that would have more reliable results, less unnecessary pain, and humane tests. In order to help this cause you can do a couple things. First, you could buy products that don’t conduct animal testing. If you really wanted to protect the animals, you could write to the companies that still use animal testing.
