Biomedical Research
Not all animal research is bad.
Biomedical research is actually necessary
to benefit not only humans,
but animals too!
Would you want to live in a world that was years behind the medical advances that we have today? A world with fewer treatments, fewer cures, fewer medications, fewer vaccines, no antibiotics, and no anesthetics? Probably not, but what many people take for granted is that we have all these things thanks to animal research. Animal research is beneficial to people and the animals that they love. People tend to protest animal research because they think it’s cruel and unnecessary, but they really have no idea what they are talking about. Testing on animals for cosmetics and household products is unnecessary, but that is not what I refer to when I speak of animal research. The main difference is that animal testing for products is usually something that companies do not have to do, but rather something they chose to do for some reason, and yes it is often very cruel. But animal research is biomedical research, its highly regulated, mandatory in some cases like with medications, and it isn't as cruel as people like to believe. I used to be against all animal testing, but that was until I took the time to really look into it and realized that there are two types of animal testing. There is the main type, animal research that is for science and medical purposes, and there is what everyone makes a big deal about, testing for products. Organizations against animal testing never like to get into the details about these differences and really don't let you know that majority of animal testing is for science, not products, because then they wouldn't have much of a case. Throughout this paper I intend to wipe out many of the myths and misconceptions that people hold against animal research by going over the statistics of animals used, strict regulations, benefits to animals, benefits to diseases and disorders, and the development of antiseptics, antibiotics, anesthetics and many vaccines. Hopefully through reading this, people will see that animal research is not cruel and without it, many of us and our loved ones would not be alive today.
When most people think about animals being involved in research, they are upset because they think that the animals could have been pets or could have had better lives. The truth is, that the majority of the animals used in research are rats and mice that were specifically bred for that purpose, and many of them would not even be able to survive outside of a lab. In fact, about 85-90% of the animals used are rats, mice, or other rodents, all of which are not protected by the USDA. Which leads me to another common misconception: that people steal pets, like dogs, and sell them to researchers; this could not be farther from the truth. Dogs are one of many species that are protected by the USDA, and these animals are strictly regulated and can only be obtained from specific breeders. Dogs off the street would not be considered clean enough for research because there is no way of telling what their history is and what they may have come into contact with. To get a better understanding of how few dogs or cats are used in research, think about this: "fewer than one dog or cat is used for research for every 50 destroyed by animal pounds". So why are people so against testing when pounds clearly kill more? And when you really think about it, breeders are a main reason that many "mutts" end up in pounds and are euthanized, so why not go after breeders too? While up to 16 million dogs and cats are killed in pounds annually, only about 2 to 3 million dogs and cats are used in research. Of those animals, not all end up being euthanized; if at all possible, facilities like to adopt out healthy animals. Plus, since 1968 in the United States, there has been a 40% decrease in the number of animals used for research. Even with many animals still being used in research, it is not all that cruel.
Animal research isn’t as cruel as many people think because there are strict regulations that facilities and researchers must follow. Protocols must be thoroughly written by researchers describing all aspects of an experiment, and then approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) before anything can begin. Researchers are often reminded that “concern for animal welfare should always be on researchers’ minds when designing a protocol”. All the regulations were created as a way to ensure that animals are never unnecessarily burdened. You see, most researchers are actually animal lovers themselves and so they already try to do all they can to reduce numbers and pain, but regulations keep all those things in mind. Organizations like IACUC make it so “researchers need to justify using the research design they propose over other designs that might be less burdensome on animals”. One thing that many researchers always keep in the back of their heads is the Three R’s: reduce, refine, and replace. The Three R’s are fairly self explanatory, meaning to minimize animals used, replace animals when possible, and minimize pain and distress. “According to the USDA, approximately 61% of animals used suffer no pain, 31% have pain relieved with anesthesia, and only 6% experience pain, as alleviation would compromise the validity of the data. Much of this work is directed at the understanding of pain”. Not only is animal research not that cruel, but it actually benefits animals.
Research has created many benefits for animals ranging from improvements in veterinary science to wildlife conservation. When you go to the veterinarian, much of what they know is due to animal research. Techniques are developed and practiced, and vaccines are created. "Without animal research, millions of dogs, cats, birds, and farm animals would be dead from more than 200 diseases, including anthrax, distemper, rabies, feline leukemia, and canine parvo virus". Besides improving veterinary science, animal research helps with wildlife conservation too. Some researchers, like Richard Aurelich, study certain aspects of the lives of wild animals as a way to help protect populations of animals from declining. Aurelich specifically was researching mink to try to save the dwindling population in northern Michigan. Other researchers also chose to focus on ways to make it so fewer animals need to be used in research. For instance, Karen Chou was studying “the use of animal sperm as a supplement to animal testing. Though animals are greatly benefitting, the benefits to humans are far larger.
It is through animal research that many major medical breakthroughs have been found. Jon Klingborg, DVM and president of the California Veterinary Medical Association, puts it best in saying “these animals are heroes. Their contribution to discovering life saving advancements in medicine and science for both pets and humans is enormous”. Without this research we would not have improvements in diagnoses, treatments, and cures for many diseases and disorders. The development of insulin, pacemakers, and several surgical procedures, like heart bypass surgery, organ transplants, cataract surgery, and hip replacements, are all things we have because of research. At UCLA, laboratory animal research has helped with breast cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Schizophrenia, Atherosclerosis, Autism, Childhood blindness, Stroke, heart arrhythmia, radiation therapy, and other issues that many families must deal with. Researchers at Saint Louis University study eye disorders, alcohol dependence, taste preferences, muscular dystrophy, herpes, and blood vessel elasticity, among other things, as a way of giving back to society and doing their part to help mankind. Mortality rates across the world would be extremely higher today if research had not been going on for years. Clearly, we need animal research.
You or someone you know has been affected positively by animal research, if not due to disease and disorder research, then by the creation of antiseptics, antibiotics, anesthetics, and many vaccines. Though there are good types of bacteria out there, most that we come into contact with give us infections, get us sick, or could even kill us. Antiseptics are used to kill bacteria in the body during operation and on healing wounds, and antibiotics help children on a daily basis with all the infections they endure. If these were not development using horses and rabbits, then many people would die after surgery or even from a common household injury. Anesthetics are another medical advancement that has saved many lives. Without anesthetics, people could die during surgeries simply from the trauma. Think about not having something to keep you from feeling the pain while having a tooth removed or a limb amputated; most people wouldn’t do it, but then the problems they are already having would just get worse. Finally, there are vaccines. “Animal based scientists demonstrated how micro organisms cause disease and how body defenses fight those disease agents. This in turn led to the development of many vaccines which improve body defenses, so that the body can rapidly kill off very strong and nasty disease agents before they do much damage”. Some of the vaccines that animal research has helped to develop include: smallpox, measles, mumps, diphtheria, tetanus, and tuberculosis. Tuberculosis, for example, infects about two billion people across the world. In today’s standards, it’s not that big of a problem, but without research on guinea pigs to find the vaccine, far more people would be in trouble.
Animal research is not cruel and unnecessary; it is beneficial to humans and animals alike. Again I must emphasize that this refers to research for science and medicine, not unnecessary household products, that is another story. When it comes to research, like biomedical research, scientists work incredibly hard to help not only the human society, but many animals too. Research on animals has touched many more lives than most people realize. Think about the treatments, cures, vaccines, and medications that you or your family members have come into contact with. Animal research is not a cruel act of torturing animals, it is what has created the society which we all live in today. People are no longer dying left and right from infections; diseases and disorders are not ending so many lives; animals are not dying from things like distemper and rabies. These animals are our heroes and we need this research. After all, how would you like to live in a society void of most vaccines and medications? It would be like living decades ago.
Animal research isn’t as cruel as many people think because there are strict regulations that facilities and researchers must follow. Protocols must be thoroughly written by researchers describing all aspects of an experiment, and then approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) before anything can begin. Researchers are often reminded that “concern for animal welfare should always be on researchers’ minds when designing a protocol”. All the regulations were created as a way to ensure that animals are never unnecessarily burdened. You see, most researchers are actually animal lovers themselves and so they already try to do all they can to reduce numbers and pain, but regulations keep all those things in mind. Organizations like IACUC make it so “researchers need to justify using the research design they propose over other designs that might be less burdensome on animals”. One thing that many researchers always keep in the back of their heads is the Three R’s: reduce, refine, and replace. The Three R’s are fairly self explanatory, meaning to minimize animals used, replace animals when possible, and minimize pain and distress. “According to the USDA, approximately 61% of animals used suffer no pain, 31% have pain relieved with anesthesia, and only 6% experience pain, as alleviation would compromise the validity of the data. Much of this work is directed at the understanding of pain”. Not only is animal research not that cruel, but it actually benefits animals.
Research has created many benefits for animals ranging from improvements in veterinary science to wildlife conservation. When you go to the veterinarian, much of what they know is due to animal research. Techniques are developed and practiced, and vaccines are created. "Without animal research, millions of dogs, cats, birds, and farm animals would be dead from more than 200 diseases, including anthrax, distemper, rabies, feline leukemia, and canine parvo virus". Besides improving veterinary science, animal research helps with wildlife conservation too. Some researchers, like Richard Aurelich, study certain aspects of the lives of wild animals as a way to help protect populations of animals from declining. Aurelich specifically was researching mink to try to save the dwindling population in northern Michigan. Other researchers also chose to focus on ways to make it so fewer animals need to be used in research. For instance, Karen Chou was studying “the use of animal sperm as a supplement to animal testing. Though animals are greatly benefitting, the benefits to humans are far larger.
It is through animal research that many major medical breakthroughs have been found. Jon Klingborg, DVM and president of the California Veterinary Medical Association, puts it best in saying “these animals are heroes. Their contribution to discovering life saving advancements in medicine and science for both pets and humans is enormous”. Without this research we would not have improvements in diagnoses, treatments, and cures for many diseases and disorders. The development of insulin, pacemakers, and several surgical procedures, like heart bypass surgery, organ transplants, cataract surgery, and hip replacements, are all things we have because of research. At UCLA, laboratory animal research has helped with breast cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Schizophrenia, Atherosclerosis, Autism, Childhood blindness, Stroke, heart arrhythmia, radiation therapy, and other issues that many families must deal with. Researchers at Saint Louis University study eye disorders, alcohol dependence, taste preferences, muscular dystrophy, herpes, and blood vessel elasticity, among other things, as a way of giving back to society and doing their part to help mankind. Mortality rates across the world would be extremely higher today if research had not been going on for years. Clearly, we need animal research.
You or someone you know has been affected positively by animal research, if not due to disease and disorder research, then by the creation of antiseptics, antibiotics, anesthetics, and many vaccines. Though there are good types of bacteria out there, most that we come into contact with give us infections, get us sick, or could even kill us. Antiseptics are used to kill bacteria in the body during operation and on healing wounds, and antibiotics help children on a daily basis with all the infections they endure. If these were not development using horses and rabbits, then many people would die after surgery or even from a common household injury. Anesthetics are another medical advancement that has saved many lives. Without anesthetics, people could die during surgeries simply from the trauma. Think about not having something to keep you from feeling the pain while having a tooth removed or a limb amputated; most people wouldn’t do it, but then the problems they are already having would just get worse. Finally, there are vaccines. “Animal based scientists demonstrated how micro organisms cause disease and how body defenses fight those disease agents. This in turn led to the development of many vaccines which improve body defenses, so that the body can rapidly kill off very strong and nasty disease agents before they do much damage”. Some of the vaccines that animal research has helped to develop include: smallpox, measles, mumps, diphtheria, tetanus, and tuberculosis. Tuberculosis, for example, infects about two billion people across the world. In today’s standards, it’s not that big of a problem, but without research on guinea pigs to find the vaccine, far more people would be in trouble.
Animal research is not cruel and unnecessary; it is beneficial to humans and animals alike. Again I must emphasize that this refers to research for science and medicine, not unnecessary household products, that is another story. When it comes to research, like biomedical research, scientists work incredibly hard to help not only the human society, but many animals too. Research on animals has touched many more lives than most people realize. Think about the treatments, cures, vaccines, and medications that you or your family members have come into contact with. Animal research is not a cruel act of torturing animals, it is what has created the society which we all live in today. People are no longer dying left and right from infections; diseases and disorders are not ending so many lives; animals are not dying from things like distemper and rabies. These animals are our heroes and we need this research. After all, how would you like to live in a society void of most vaccines and medications? It would be like living decades ago.