Animal Testing in Medical Research - Report Example

Animal Testing in Medical Research Animal testing is a vital issue for medical researchers. It hastens the discovery of drugs and treatment and inmany cases is the only possible way for such discovery that is necessary to cure diseases such as cancer and diabetes. For this reason, animal testing is defended by the scientific community and a large section of the public. In fact, there are many people who protest against animal testing for cosmetics but advocate the same for the development of new drugs and medicines. However, the cons of animal testing include killing of countless animals for experimentation, huge costs incurred for feeding and caring for the animals, and unreliability of animal testing because many drugs may not function in the same manner on both human and animal bodies. Animal testing is a controversial topic and has been subjected to various misinformation and biased opinions. The paper tries to show both sides of the issue and keeps a positive stand regarding animal testing in medical research. Canadian Health Care Animal testing happens in all countries but in varying degrees. In Canada, animal testing is regulated by the Canadian Council of Animal Care (CCAC). Health Canada is responsible for the overall protection of the Canadian population, which includes protection against the harmful effects of a medication or drug. For this purpose, Canada supports animal tests for development of medicines and healthcare. Canada emphasizes minimizing the suffering of animals by using other available alternatives. Canada encourages “refinement, replacement and reduction techniques” in animal testing. The CCAC ensures that animals are tested in an ethical manner and under proper conditions. It also stresses that animals should be given as many care facilities as possible within the area of the experimental method. They must also be maintained in a humane manner when they are used. CACC also supervises the laboratories as well as the hygiene and medical needs of animals, and whether a proper dose of pain relievers is given to the animals. There are, however, many organizations in Canada, which oppose animal testing unless absolutely necessary for innovations of better medical facilities. Canada is ready to abolish animal testing if alternatives are discovered, which has yet not happened (Murnaghan, 2010). Pros of Animal Testing Animal testing in most cases ensures safety of use of medicines and products on human beings since they were first tested on animals before introducing them in the market. Knowledge gained from vivisection of animals in laboratories has helped the medical researchers to know more about cardiovascular diseases of human beings and as a result, there has been a decrease in human deaths due to this disease. Animals are used for research only when there is no alternative way. Animal testing also helps in preservation of the environment. Animals are treated in a humane manner during the course of experimentation. Although animal testing is not a flawless method to guarantee success, it nevertheless reduces the risk of experimentation on human body by ensuring a reasonable possibility of success (Khan, 2011, p. 202). Since human body is an extremely complicated machine, it is necessary for medical researchers to use tools that replicate this complexity. Human body has trillions of cells that work in incredible precision for proper working of all organ systems. In spite of various innovations such as cell cultures and computer models which are strong techniques in the war against human diseases, animals are the closest to replicating this complexity of human body. In the absence of animal tests, medical research would be highly hampered. To minimize the genetic difference between animals and human beings, researchers have invented many methods such as genetically altering animals so that they imitate more closely the human physiology. This has made it possible for scientists to perform those experiments on animals that are not viable on human body even without concerning the ethical issues. Also, without using animals for research, it would not have been possible to gain so much knowledge about the cardiovascular system, digestive system and hormonal interactions of human body. Therefore, for the purpose of valuable advancement of medical knowledge, it is absolutely necessary that experiments be done on animals (Pycroft & Marston, 2011, pp. 34–36). Cons of Animal Testing The main argument against animal testing is that it is done for the sole purpose of profits by research organizations. In many cases research is done on animals for diseases which are not naturally found in them. There is HIV and also many types of cancer that happen only to human bodies. Members of animal rights organizations argue that animals have equal rights of survival as human beings. It is seen that every year thousands of animals are sacrificed in laboratories in the name of medical research for the purpose of inventing new drugs, medicines or health care facilities. They also suggest that methods that are alternative to animal testing be used for the purpose of medical research, for instance “chemical assay tests, tissue, cell and organ culture systems, cloned human skin cells, and computer and mathematical models.” Many people also argue that animals are inferior to human beings and so results that come from medical research done on animals cannot be applicable to human bodies (Khan, 2011, pp. 202–203). Since the mechanisms inside a human body are extremely complex and intricate, animal bodies cannot be suitable substitutes of human bodies for experimentation. This is because there is a vast genetic difference between the anatomies of human beings and animals, and data derived from animal tests cannot be always accurate for human beings. Even when animals are genetically altered to simulate the human body, there cannot be absolute accuracy as human mechanism is too complex. There are many scientific technologies such as “microfluidic chips and microdosing” that analyze the human anatomy, thus eliminating the error caused by experimentation of different species such as animals. Systematic reviews have shown that there are alternatives to animal testing for some areas of “toxicity testing and biomedical research.” It has been proven by the US Federal Drug Administration that the majority of drugs that have been successful on animals have failed on human bodies. This also raises the question of those drugs that have failed on animals but might have been successful on human bodies (Pycroft & Marston, 2011, pp. 34–36). My perspective My view on this matter is that animal testing cannot be eliminated completely because it, no doubt, helps in the progress of medical knowledge. Many kinds of drugs for diseases ranging from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes to HIV have been invented from knowledge gained from animal tests. Also, scientists use animals for research because they are regarded as similar to human bodies in spite of limitations attached to animal testing. However, I also believe that it is absolutely necessary that animals be treated in a humane manner during the process of experimentation and the laboratories have hygienic environment. Even considering all the ethical issues, I believe that animal testing has more benefits than the problems associated with it. All the sources that I have found relate mostly to the varying views on this subject. The arguments are strong on both sides and I have encountered difficulty in forming a definite opinion on this subject. Conclusion The major ethical concern associated with animal testing is that pain and suffering are deliberately inflicted on animals for research purpose. Although this cannot be completely eliminated in all kinds of experiments, scientists definitely use pain-relieving medicines whenever possible. Responsible scientists take all measures to ensure humane treatment of animals in laboratories. From the perspective of animal welfare, it is time to end animal suffering in the name of medical research and it is the responsibility of human beings to achieve this without hindering scientific progress. References Khan, F.A. (2011). Biotechnology fundamentals. USA: CRC Press. Murnaghan, I. (2010, July 19). Animal testing in Canada. Aboutanimaltesting. Retrieved on October 17, 2012 from: http://www.aboutanimaltesting.co.uk/animal-testing-canada.html. Pycroft, L., & Marston, H. (July, 2011). Is animal testing necessary to advance medical research? New Internationalist, 444, 34–36. Read More