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Animal testing is the use of animals in laboratories to test household products, drugs, cosmetics, toiletries etc. The animals used in labs are usually rats, mice, rabbits, cats and dogs, but there are many more. Vivisection is related: literally it means 'live cutting' - animals are dissected whilst they are alive, with no anaesthetic for the pain. Some of the things which are enforced upon the animals include: putting them on hot plates, forcing them to swim through a tank of water, depriving them of food, giving them electric shocks and removing, or stitching their eyes closed.
Arguments
Pro
*few alternatives to using animals
*safer
*the animals are not harmed
*few alternatives to buying animal tested products
Anti
*the suffering caused to the animals is unnecessary & inhumane
*not scientifically viable
What I think
I did an oral presentation about this in grade eight (year nine).It really opened my eyes to the cruelty that is endured by animals every single day. I also did an essay for my English portfolio in grade ten. I boycott companies that test on animals, supporting those that have a strong ethical and rational stance against it; such as The Body Shop, Honesty and Lush.
I find it despicable that so-called modern scientists continue to use this method when there are so many other alternatives which are cheaply available and more reliable; for example, human epidemiological studies; (where people are observed to try to find out the causes of diseases) observations of people who are sick, or have died; to use healthy volunteers; to experiment with human tissue samples; and also computer simulations of biological systems could be used.
It is definitely not safer to use animals in product testing. It has been discovered that animals react differently to many drugs, often in the opposite way to humans. According to Animal Aid, "one survey found that 7 out of 10 drugs considered safe and effective on the basis of animal test, failed when they were given to people." Consider recent drug trials, which resulted in people becoming seriously ill, despite prior animal tests that had 'proved' them to be safe.
A common misconception about animal testing is that scientists simply apply nail varnish to a rabbit's toenails or put a few eye drops in its eyes. This is incredibly naive. People are shown images of beagles acting playfully and monkeys running round free but this is merely propaganda. Visit any animal welfare site to see that this is far from the truth. Animals endure a great deal of pain in the name of 'research' and it is indeed heartbreakingly horrifying. Toxicity tests are perhaps the worst since animals are given high doses of poisonous chemicals to discover how much is needed to result in death. Here in the 21st century we have enough evidence to prove that animals feel pain just as we do and therefore should they be forced to endure despicable, antiquated procedures such as these?
Although it is hard to completely avoid buying products which have been tested on animals, you can help by at least only buying cosmetics, toiletries and cleaning products which say something akin to "product and ingredients not tested on animals", or which are widely known not to test on animals. I try to additionally avoid taking medicines made by pharmaceutical companies, and rather allow my body to recover itself. This is because a) I do not want to use animal tested products, b) they may not be suitable for vegetarians and c) they may have unknown harmful effects on the body. I truly encourage others to do the same.
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Links:
General information
Animal Aid
P.E.T.A.
List of companies that do/don't test on animals
Caring Consumer
See homepage for links to cruelty-free cosmetics & toiletries