For those who believe that animals that are kept in cages is justifiable, when for example they help protect humans from disease, should be aware that experiments, in the past, involving animals has given dangerously misleading results. In June 1989 a patient suffering from Cholera was given a new course of anti-biotics, which had been tested on animals but not on humans, was nearly killed because the drug reacted with an acid in the stomach producing deadly bacteria. The acid, which caused this, was not present in the species in which the drug was tested upon. However this was reported to be one of few drugs that have gone wrong in the past and all of these experiments were carried out before the ninety’s.
Another reason I believe animal testing should be banned is because many of the experiments carried out these days are only slight variations of experiments that have already been tested before, in the past. And many of these experiments are exactly the same to other experiments that have already been carried out before, in the past. For example, sleep deprivation, where an animal, usually a cat, is not allowed to sleep for up to seven days. This experiment has been carried out many times over the past twenty years. “ Alternative forms of consultation are used whenever they can provide the required information”. This is what many scientists seem to be saying every time they are accused of animal cruelty when certain experiments, that have been tested before, are being tested before. Nevertheless there is more and more evidence being found everyday that this cannot be further from the truth.
Research involving animals is controlled by the most comprehensive legalisation in the world and a scientist needs confirmation from a judge before being allowed to carry out an experiment involving an animal. However, in the past there have been scientists caught giving false test preparations to a judge and carrying out a different procedure to the one they said to their judge. This makes me believe that if some people have done it and got caught, how man people have done it and got away with it. Animal liberationists break the law to prove that scientists are lying to judges and that they are carrying out illegal procedures. Although they are finding criminal’s animal liberationists can still get sent to jail because they are breaking the law. Due to this there are fewer liberationists, which means that once again scientists are getting away with breaking the law.
To conclude, I feel that I have outlined some of the main issues with animal testing and have weighed out both for and against equally. I think that animal testing should only be used in extreme cases and that there is someone in the legal trade watching all aspects of the procedure. Anyone caught breaking the law should be severely dealt with and fined.
