CLAIM: IS ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION JUSTIFIED?
The term “animal testing” refers to procedures performed on living animals for purposes of research into basic biology
and diseases, assessing the effectiveness of new medicinal products, and testing the human health and/or environmental
safety of consumer and industry products such as cosmetics, household cleaners, food additives, pharmaceuticals, and
industrial/agro-chemicals.
SIDE Affirmative Negative
STATEMENT Animal testing is vital for the discovery of life- Animal testing is not humane.
changing drugs.
ARGUMENT Animal research has provided us with the ability All procedures, even those classified as “mild,”
1 to achieve life-changing discoveries through have the potential to cause the animals
modern drugs, vaccines, and various physical as well as psychological distress and
procedures. Testing on animals has saved and suffering. Often the procedures can cause a
improved millions of lives. Animal testing has great deal of suffering. Most animals are killed
benefited researchers in understanding how to at the end of an experiment, but some may be
treat and prevent various conditions such as re-used in subsequent experiments.
high blood pressure, diabetes, tuberculosis,
poliomyelitis, muscular dystrophy, and
Parkinson's disease.
ARGUMENT 2 The fact that animals are needed can be Common animal testing procedures are;
explained by the complexity of the biochemical Forced chemical exposure in toxicity testing,
processes of humans. Using non-animal which can include oral force-feeding, forced
alternatives is useful, but it does not always inhalation, skin or injection into the abdomen,
provide the chance to study the interrelated muscle, etc.
pathways occurring inside humans. Exposure to drugs, chemicals or , infectious
Animals like guinea pigs and frogs were heroes diseases at levels that cause illness, pain and,
in the process of inventing asthma inhalers. distress, or death.
Meningitis C cases are now rare, going down to Genetic manipulation, e.g., addition or
700 cases per year through the last decade, “knocking out” of one or more genes.
thanks to the animal models that were used Food and water deprivation.
during the research process. Today, 8 out of 10 Surgical procedures followed by recovery.
pediatric cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia Infliction of wounds, burns and other injuries
will have an average 5-year survival rate, to study healing.
compared to 25 years ago, when 70% of kids Infliction of pain to study its physiology and
who had the disease died within 5 years. treatment. Other manipulations create “animal
Likewise, kidney, heart, and other organ models” of human diseases ranging from
transplant advances, and immunosuppressant cancer to stroke to depression.
therapies, were all developed using animal
models.
ARGUMENT 3 Animals can also benefit from animal research
as well. Animals and humans have many shared
conditions, diseases, and genes. These shared
properties are now well understood and can be
cured in both. Most veterinary drugs are based
on similar drugs used by humans. For instance,
diabetes studies in dogs and rabbits were
performed to explore the option of treatment
with insulin. Today, insulin is a major treatment
for many conditions in animals.
