By: Austin Fang
Animal testing is the act of experimenting with an animal's brain and bodies. While this method of science has been around for a while, I believe it is unethical and should be banned because it is dangerous, unreliable, and there are alternatives.
Firstly, animal testing is bad because it is dangerous for animals. It’s very unethical to put over 100 million animals into a laboratory for research. These animals can become uncomfortable and stressed out because of this torture. According to peta.org, using animals for research could cause pain, loneliness, and fear in them. Many experiments involve keeping animals in an enclosed space for a long period of time and testing dangerous chemicals on them. These experiments are extremely dangerous for the animal.
Secondly, animal testing is a waste of time and money. According to the National Institute of Health, 95% of medicines and drugs that work in animal tests don’t actually translate to the human body. However, we spend 12 billion dollars on animal tests each year. Also, sentientmedia.org states that 92% of medicines tested on animals do not proceed to the market due to the toxins that are harmless to animals but harmful to humans. The ratio of the amount of money to the success rates is ridiculous, which is another reason animal tests should be banned.
Finally, there are alternative methods that do not involve using a living creature. For example, materials like Epiderm and Thincert that contain human cells are much cheaper, easier, and more accurate testing methods. These materials are almost exact replicas of human skin, making it easier than ever to perform experiments for only a fraction of the price it takes for animal tests.
In conclusion, animal tests are unethical because they are dangerous, wasteful, and there are alternatives that are cheaper, easier, and more accurate.