The Horror of Animal Experimentation

In our society, we see television ads, such as ASPCA and PETA, to stop animal cruelty and animal experimentation. But does society really know what takes place behind the scenes? Not many people know about this horror.

Approximately 115 million animals are used as experimental instruments or "guinea pigs" and are killed in the United States every year. Much of the experimentation include pumping chemicals into rats' stomach, hacking muscle tissues from dogs' thighs, and putting baby monkeys in isolation chambers far from their mothers. These experiments are paid by the American taxpayers and consumers. In contrast, you cannot visit a laboratory and see how the government has spent the taxpayers' money.

Animal experimentation is a multi-billion dollar industry fueled by massive public funding and involving corporate, government, and university laboratories, cage, and food manufacturers. The industry and the experimenters profit because animals, who cannot defend themselves against abuse, are legally imprisoned and exploited.

What is life for animals in a laboratory?

Life in a laboratory for animals is full of deprivation, isolation, and misery. For instance, chimpanzees are never separated from their families and troops in their natural habitat. They spend hours together, grooming one another and making soft nests for sleeping night. But in a laboratory, chimps are alone in a cage with no families, no grooming, and no nests to sleep. These types of treatment go on for many years that most chimpanzees sink into depression, eventually losing their minds. In many cases, the cages are not clean. But even when the cages are clean, the animals are not allowed to participate in any normal behavior.

Deprivation As a Result of Experiments

Animals are infected with diseases they would not normally contract, such as tiny mice grow tumors as large as their own bodies. Kittens are blinded on purpose, and rats are made to suffer seizures. These experimenters force-feed chemicals to animals, conduct repeated surgeries on them, implant wires in their brains, and crush their spines, among other procedures.

Where are these animals being experimented?

These animals are being experimented everywhere from environmental organizations to health charities. Here are a few places where animals are experimented:

a.) Testing facilities, such as U.S. Government Testing Program and International Testing Programs.
b.) Education, such as classroom, as in dissecting a frog or a starfish.
c.) Research facilities, such as an Animal Research Industry, Colleges and Universities, and Health Charities.

These experimenters want the general public to believe that if they give up their old habit, children, other diseases, and accidents would drop dead in mass numbers. However, the trend in modern research in recent years has been recognized that animals rarely serve as good models for the human body.

The following are some statements supporting animal experimentation:

a.) "Every major medical advance is attributable to experiments on animals."
b.) "If we didn't use animals, we'd have to test new drugs on people."
c.) "We have to observe the complex interactions of cells, tissues, and organs in living animals."
d.) "Animals help in the fight against cancer."
e.) "Science has a responsibility to use animals to keep looking for cures for all the horrible diseases that people suffer from."
f.) "Many experiments are not painful to animals and are therefore justified."

What can society do to help?

a.) Buy only cruelty-free products and donate only to health charities that never fund animal experiments.
b.) Write to the state representatives in Congress to demand that human alternatives to animal experiments to be used. Refer to
PETA's guide to writing effective letters.
c.) Read PETAs factsheet on alternatives to animal testing and learn how you can help animals who are used for experimentation.

Sources:

http://www.stopanimaltests.com/animalTesting101.asp

http://www.stopanimaltests.com/AnimalsinLabs.asp

http://www.stopanimaltests.com/GetActive.asp

http://www.stopanimaltests.com/f-counterpoint.asp