Young-Ran Song Park
General English R/W V
February 18, 2005
These days, around the world millions of animals are killed for food every year and a lot of animals are used to test products that range from shampoo to new cancer drugs. Almost every medical treatment you use has been tested on animals. Animals have also been used to develop anesthetics to prevent human pain and suffering during surgery. But, recently activists for animal rights have claimed that animals have as much right to life as human beings, and that we should not use animals at all. While it may be difficult to accept the suffering of experimental animals, it is obvious that we still need experimental animals for the development of new treatments and drugs. However, even if experimental animals are very important for the testing, their use should be limited and responsible.
Animal testing is still necessary and essential because we can't figure out other methods to ensure the safety of medical drugs and procedures. Animal testing by using experimental animals has helped to develop vaccines against diseases like polio, measles, and TB. Nowadays, many new treatments and drugs rely on animal testing; moreover, other testing methods haven't yet been fully developed. Scientists also claim that there are no differences between experimental animals and humans that can't be factored into the test, so this kind of testing is very useful. In addition, the laws of most countries require that every new drug be tested on at least one or two different species of live animal before using it on people.
The research using animals should be done only when there is no alternative. Since animal experiments first began, a lot of people have expressed concern that animals may suffer, or that too many animals are sacrificed in the name of science. In fact, experimental animals include all kinds of living animals that become the object of study in the place of human bodies such as mice, rats, rabbits, monkeys, fish, and so on. Nowadays, most scientists accept that it is important to minimize the suffering of experimental animals, and they try to limit the use of animals as much as possible. Fortunately, we have already studied some alternative methods called the 'Three Rs'. They are: 'replacement'-that is to perform tests on cells, 'reduction'-which means to reduce the number of animals for each experiment, and 'refinement'-which means to improve the experiments to reduce animal suffering. Furthermore, as the rules of many countries become more strict, researchers can continue to use animals but in limited and controlled ways.
The responsible use of animals in research relates to the way we deal with experimental animals. The responsible use of experimental animals help scientists to change their attitude about animals. A lot of people are concerned with animal welfare. So researchers who work with animals should be aware of their individual and collective responsibilities for animal care and use. Experimental animals should also be used by legal and ethical means and these procedures should be presented for evaluation and public approval. In other words, all experimental work should seek where possible to avoid the use of animals, and the researchers must advanced sound scientific reasons for their use, explaining their purpose, and why there are no realistic alternatives. In order to meet that standard, the objectives of animal experiments must be practical and clear. All animal facilities should be maintained, not only at the highest quality standards, but also the highest level of ethics in objective ways.
Even if we still have conflicted feelings on the question of whether human life has greater value than animal life or whether the death of animals through research is necessary, we cannot help but recognize the benefits of new medical drugs developed through the research using experimental animals. However, the use of experimental animals must be as limited and painless as possible. At the same time, researchers should pay attention to the appropriate environment and housing of animals. They should also pay more attention to the improved health and well-being of both animals and humans. Consequently, we must continue to use experimental animals in conducting essential scientific research and the safety testing of new drugs while keeping the balance between using the animals and caring for them.