Animal Testing Should be Banned
By Audry Amanda (211910003) — Student of English Letters at Ma Chung University Malang, Indonesia
What is Animal Testing?
Animal testing is an activity that makes animals the object of an experiment. Animals are employed in the development of medicinal treatments, determining the toxicity of pharmaceuticals, ensuring the safety of products intended for human use, and other biological, commercial, and health-care applications. Living animal research has been done since at least 500 BC. Animal testing is often suspected as a root solution to test the feasibility of drugs or cosmetics before being used by humans. Researchers usually use animals that have genetic structures and organs similar to humans such as monkeys, pigs, mice, rabbits and dogs. Therefore, researchers believe by testing on animals — these animals can estimate the effectiveness and side effects of a chemical substance in humans.
Developments in the field of science and technology are now increasingly advanced. One of the advancements in the field of science and technology is in health science. Now a lot of trials and research conducted on animals to create new drugs or cosmetics. A study conducted on animals, even though it is carefully and carefully designed, will still have risks to the animal as the object under study. Experiments on animals in its implementation have caused various kinds of reactions in the community, especially among researchers and also the animal lover community. Basically, humans are not allowed to use animals in experiments that can cause pain to the animal. Therefore, an alternative way is needed to replace or reduce the pain in these animals.
Animal testing is an important part of biomedical research since it allows researchers to explore a variety of diseases. Animals will be purposely infected with diseases, and tests will be carried out on them. In an attempt to resemble human sickness, many diseases are created artificially in laboratories. This enables researchers to test a new medicine on animals in order to develop it. Animal tests will be used by researchers to learn more about how the sickness develops in the body. Scientists can discover what causes disease, how it develops, and what aspects of genetics, the environment, or food contribute to illness development by evaluating animal models. Cosmetic preparations, like animal trials for cosmetic items, comprise a large number of compounds, thus corporations must evaluate these substances for toxicity, dosage, and efficacy. Cosmetic preparations can induce skin irritation, contact urticarial, stinging, allergic sensitization, and photoallergy, among other side effects. As a result, animal testing of cosmetic chemicals is largely used to determine whether the product is safe and hypoallergenic.
During the activity of animal experiments, there is a very high probability that these animals will be subjected to cruel treatment where they will continue to be tortured during the experiment which results in a large number of experimental animals dying. Not all experiments return experimental animals to their original place after being tested. Ironically, there are some animals that are intended to be killed immediately after the experiment. With so many experimental animals that died, it is certain that a lot of losses were incurred. Because testing on animals is not as cheap as imagined. This is because of the high cost of care, shelter, and food for the animals being tested. This trial process usually takes a long time or even months, which means that this trial will have more accumulated costs. This experiment will be profitable if it is successful, otherwise, it is already certain how much loss you will get. Over time, animal testing is no longer relevant to apply. This is because the procedure is very painful for the animal, the results are not completely accurate. Please note that animals and humans have different body structures, organs, and genetics. There are even certain substances that have a lethal effect on animals but are safe for humans and vice versa. With results that cannot be fully accounted for, this procedure has also come at the expense of the health and welfare of so many animals.
Animal testing is most often done in cosmetics. Cosmetics and skincare products are a means to make a person’s appearance better than before. However, as a cosmetic user, it would be nice to pay attention to how these products are processed, including the use of raw materials in the trial process. In fact, these beauty products must first be tested on animals to see whether the product is harmful to humans or not, considering that there are some products that use chemicals that may be harmful to humans. Animal testing for beauty products is tested in several ways. Starting from the light ones, such as polishing animal skin with lotions and powders that will be used in eye makeup products. In some cases, before testing, the animal’s hair must be shaved first so that the substance to be tested directly penetrates the skin without being blocked by the hair, so researchers can see firsthand how the substance reacts to the animal’s skin.
To further support my research, I made a survey about animal testing in order to get what people’s experiences and opinions are about animal testing. I shared the survey and asked people around my age to fill the survey. And I choose Google Forms to collect all the data from 22 respondents. Here is the summary of the questions and also the percentage of answers from respondents :
- Out of 22 respondents there are 20 people who said they do not know much about animal testing and there are 2 people who knows a lot about animal testing.
2. Out of 22 respondents there are 12 people who thinks that animal testing is unethical and there are 10 people who thinks that animal testing is ethical. I think in this question, many people are still confused about the meaning of ethical.
3. Out of 22 respondents there are 9 people who considers whether the products that they are going to buy is a cruelty free or not, 4 people who sometimes consider it, and there are 9 people who does not consider it.
4. Out of 22 respondents there are 11 people who said they will try to find the alternatives products, there are 5 people who said that they are not going to use the product again, and there are 6 people who thinks that it does not bother them knowing the products that they have been used is have been tested on animals.
5. Out of 22 respondents there are 17 people that thinks that animal testing should be stopped and there are 5 people who thinks that animal testing should be continued.
6. The last question of the survey is that I asked the respondents are they personally agree on animal testing? And I asked them to give me a reason on why they agree or not. Here are some reason why they disagree on animal testing :
- Personally, I disagree with animal testing. Because, for me it can cause the animal population that is used as the experimental product to decrease. For example rabbits, if they are used to experiment a beauty product continuously, it can be sure that their population will be smaller. Besides that, it also made them suffer various injuries to the point that some were disabled due to the effects of the beauty product experiment.
- No, I don’t agree with animal testing because I think it’s unnecessary, animal experiments prolong the suffering of humans waiting for effective cures because the results mislead experimenters.
- I honestly don’t agree, because the animals are also sentient beings who deserve to live, I also once read an article that explains that not all products are tested successfully in animals work as well in humans there is also a failure, because it should be scientists may be able to find other alternatives to test.
- No I don’t agree because there must be other alternatives and it feels so unfair like why animals should suffer for humans needs.
- No I don’t agree on animal testing because just as human, animals have right to live. So animal testing is violates animal rights.
And here are some reason why they agree on animal testing :
- Personally, I agree with animal testing because what I have found in various animal testing sources is to find out whether a product is good and safe for humans, if not tested first, it will be very dangerous and can cause deadly disease. But maybe if there was an alternative to animal testing it would be great.
- I personally agree with animal testing because humans need animal testing in order to ensure that the drugs / food to be consumed are safe for the human body.
The results above show us that most of the respondents do not agree with animal testing and thinks that animal testing should be stopped. But there are few people who agree with animal testing thinks that animal testing should be continued but they are also hoping that we can find other alternatives.
Experiments conducted on animals raise pros and cons in some circles. There are some people who allow it to happen for some reason there are also those who strictly forbid it. People who agree with animal testing, think that using animals to find cures for all the terrible diseases that humans suffer is normal. More human lives could be saved and more suffering could be prevented by animal testing. Another reason why animal testing needs to be done is that the animals being tested, have similar organs such as the brain, lungs, heart, liver, etc. Proponents of animal testing say that it is possible to develop a variety of life-saving treatments for both humans and animals, they say there are no alternative methods to search for complete organisms, and that strict regulations prevent ill-treatment of animals in laboratories. Meanwhile, opponents of animal testing say that experimentation on animals is cruel and inhumane, that alternative methods available to researchers can replace animal testing, and that animals are so different from humans that animal studies often yield irrelevant results.
Given how cruel animal testing is, various alternatives to animal testing have been developed by several scientists around the world. There are several alternatives in animal trials. The first is, animal trials are still being carried out, but are modified again to reduce the pain or suffering felt by the animals being tested. This procedure is done by providing relief from pain or the animal is given anesthesia or sedation before carrying out the trial procedure. Before painkillers are put to the test, the dose required and how it affects and responds to the animal need to be considered. After that, the animal is entertained by stroking it gently so that they do not experience stress. The next alternative way is to replace animals with several non-animal organisms such as single-celled organisms to invertebrates. The reason these organisms are used is that they can be cultured much younger and faster than most animal or human cells. The fungal system has proven to be very useful in mutagenicity testing and appears to be more sensitive than bacteria. This alternative is more effective to do so as to reduce the pain or distress experienced by the animals being tested.
There are already several countries that have established a ban on animal testing. The EU was the first to ban the testing of cosmetic products on animals. The ban on the use of products tested on animals was introduced in 2008. In March 2013 the European Union imposed a complete ban on the sale and import of cosmetics that are tested on animals or contain ingredients that are tested on animals. Then followed by Turkey which prohibits the testing of cosmetic ingredients or formulations on animals and replaces them with alternative methods. The Turkish Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Administration enforces the ban through the applicable amended regulations, which are published in the State Gazette. As for several other countries that prohibit animal testing, such as India, South Korea, New Zealand, Brazil, Australia, Taiwan, etc.
Microchips that mimic the microarchitecture and function of biological organs are being developed by Institute researchers and a heterogeneous team of collaborators. Organs-on-chips are microchips that could one day provide a more accurate alternative to traditional animal testing. Each organ-on-chip is made out of a clear flexible polymer the size of a computer memory stick with hollow microfluidic channels lined with real human cells. The instrumented “human-on-a-chip” will be used to evaluate new medication candidates quickly, providing crucial information on their safety and efficacy.
Animal testing is an activity that makes animals the object of experimentation. Researchers believe by testing on animals, these animals can estimate the effectiveness and side effects of a chemical substance in humans. During the activities of experimental animals, it is likely that these animals will be subjected to cruel treatment where they will continue to be tortured during the experiment which results in many experimental animals dying. Experiments on these animals evoke various kinds of responses from many people, there are those who agree and those who oppose. In fact, there are already many countries that have imposed a ban on animal testing and the use of products that carry out animal testing. The number of people who oppose this procedure creates a number of alternative animal trials that are a solution to this problem.
To end things off, I think humans do not require doing research or testing on animals. Apart from torturing and hurting animals, this research is also not very relevant. As a result, there are many disadvantages of this experimental procedure on animals. Animal testing is a very cruel activity, just imagine how many animals are used in experiments in labs every year around the world. The animals ended up suffering from burns, paralysis, stress and many died. Therefore, scientists are advised to continue to develop methods or procedures other than animal testing. With so many animals being tormented by animal testing, what we are trying to do is not to use products that are tested on animals and against animal testing.
REFERENCES
Garattini, Silvio., & Grignaschi, G. (2016). Animal testing is still the best way to find new treatments for patients. European Journal of Internal Medicine, 32–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejim.2016.11.013
Prasad, B. (2016). A Review on Drug Testing in Animals. Transl Biomed, Vol.7 №4:99, 1–4. DOI: 10.2167/2172–0479.100099
Sreedhar, D., Manjula, N., Ajay, P., Shilpa, Pise., Ligade, V. (2018). Ban of Cosmetic Testing on Animals: A Brief Overview. International Journal of Current Research and Review, Vol 12, 113–116. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.31782/IJCRR.2020.121424
U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Alternatives to Animal Use in Research, Testing, and Education (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, OTA-BA-273, February 1986).