Animal Testing: Necessary but Nonessential

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Animal Testing: Necessary but Nonessential Without a doubt animal testing can be said to be a growing epidemic in all countries. Certainly there are pros and cons of animal testing but the harm that is falling upon animals isn’t so great. Animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits, and small rodents that are being used for cosmetic experiments belong in a home with a caring environment and not some laboratory. I believe that cosmetic animal testing should come to an end. The practice of experimenting on animals goes back many centuries. “As early as the 2nd century AD, Roman physician Galen experimented on pigs and apes to demonstrate that veins carry blood, not air, as had been believed. In the early 1600s English physician William Harvey studied diverse animals such as worms, insects, fish, and frogs, providing pioneering insights into the principle by which blood circulates in the body.” (Archibald) Use of animal experimentation increased significantly in the 1800s, impacting the rapid development of science during that century. “In the 1970s the animal rights movement gained new momentum and visibility, particularly with the 1975 publication of the book Animal Liberation, by Australian philosopher Peter Singer, which called animal experimentation morally indefensible. In many incidents during the 1970s and 1980s, protest took the form of late-night raids on research facilities.” (Phillips) During the 1970s and 1980s, protest took the form of late night raids on research facilities. Animal rights activists broke into laboratories, freed animals, and destroyed data and equipment. The total damage from raids between 1985 and 1990, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, exceeded $3.5 million, and universities and research facilities spent millions more on increased security. (AAMC) The main federal law pertaining to animal research is the
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