Using Animals in Conducting Search and Studies - Essay Example

Using Animals in Conducting Search and Studies Name Institution Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Using Animals in Conducting Search and Studies 3 Introduction 3 History of using animals in research 3 Reasons for using animals in research 5 Advantages of using animals according to scientists 6 Disadvantages of using animals 7 Religious views 8 Islam 8 Christianity 9 Laws concerning use of animals for research 9 Animal rights 10 Conclusion 11 References 11 Using Animals in Conducting Search and Studies Introduction Use of animals in conducting search and studies was developed centuries ago by scientists. It can be traced back to 500BC when scientists started dissecting animals for experiments. The practice is still going on to date. Over the years it has attracted criticism from many groups including religious groups and animal rights groups. In the nineteenth century animals right groups started opposing the practice. This practice is however beneficial and it has helped increase the life expectancy of mankind according to scientist. According to Guerrini (2003), the question of ethics has been raised in the recent past regarding the practice. This has lead to a fresh review of the practice including its advantages and disadvantages. Use of alternative means is also being discussed. All this is subject to discussion to know full details of the practice in terms of ethics, profession and alternative mean of conducting research. The essay will discuss the reasons and advantages of the practice, disadvantages and opposing views by several groups. History of using animals in research The earliest records of using animals to conduct research are found in the writings of Aristotle from Greek. He was one of the earliest scientist and writer. This was between 384-322 BC. Galen was another scientist and physician from Rome who used to bisect animals for experiment. In most cases he was referred to as father of vivisection due to his work. In Asia and particularly Arabia there was a scientist by the name Avizor also practiced dissection. He was a doctor at the time and could perform experiments on animals before applying it to human beings. His reasons being that if the experiments were performed directly on humans they may not survive. According to Carbone (2004), these were among the earliest scientists to perform experiments using humans. In most of these cases the experiments were to be applied to human patients to increase their chances of survival. This early practices were attributed to hunting whereby the animals were dissected. This lead to the knowledge of carrying out experiments on animals since some body parts resembled that of humans (Stangor, 2010). Advanced experiments were however started in he seventeenth century. In 1831 some members of a biomedical profession in Europe formed an animal zoo called Dublin. Their main aim was to purchase both live and dead animals to be used extensively for medical experiment. During the same century a great scientist in his called Luis Pasteur from France in his quest to explain germ theory induced anthrax on sheep. This was among the first experiments that live experiments were being conducted in living animals. He however succeeded in his experiment which encouraged other scientists. In the late 1890s a scientist called Ivan commonly used dogs to conduct experiments concerning insulin. This led to the discovery of treatment for diabetes in the twentieth century. In 1957 Russian scientists used dogs on astronomical experiments to orbit the earth before humans were sent to space. This was to prevent humans from the possibility of death if the expedition backfires. However the scientists did not consider the death of the dogs as any loss incase they died. Treatment and vaccine for leprosy which was a deadly disease was discovered in 1970 after conducting experiments on armadillos. However, the most astonishing experiments were in 1974 where changing of genetics was done on animals. A sheep was also cloned from an adult cell in 1996. Since then the experiments on animals have continued largely to date (Carbone, 2004). Reasons for using animals in research One of the main reasons according to scientists as to why they continue using animals for research is development of vaccines. Over the centuries man has been faced with many life threatening diseases. Examples include cowpox, smallpox, cancer and currently AIDS. These diseases are very difficult to treat and hence they require vaccination which will eventually prevent people from contracting them. It is at this point that an experiment needs to be carried out to get the right vaccine. Use of human beings will be quite immoral according to the scientists. This is because human slaves were at one point used for such experiments. This resulted to deaths since the experiments may fail to produce the desired vaccine. Animals can therefore be used safely without endangering the lives of human beings. Scientists prefer risking the lives of animals mostly rodents and apes instead of human lives for the common good of obtaining vaccines. This experiment has been quite successful in saving lives of millions of people who would have perished if a vaccine had not been developed (Office of Technology Assessment, Congress, 1998). Production of drugs is also an important scientific activity apart from developing vaccines. Most of the drug production and development activities are entirely dependent on animals for research. Very important drugs like the anti-retroviral drug which helps the AIDS patients cope with the disease were developed through use of animal research. This drug is quite essential and has saved the lives of millions of people. Apes which mainly have similar blood with humans were used in carrying out this experiment. According to Stangor (2010) diabetes is also a life threatening condition that triggers a host of complications. Many patients in the pat and even in the present die of complications associated with diabetes. However due to animal use in research to develop a drug it is now possible to manage this condition. Lack of insulin is a major factor associated with diabetes. This was discovered after the use of animals to carry out experiments. The development of most drugs does not have alternatives to determine whether the drugs will work or not. As such live experiments are required. This leaves scientists with only two choices which are either to use animals or humans. The most reasonable according to scientists is animals and hence their continued use (Gravetter & Forzano, 2011). The use of animals to carry out research is not only beneficial to humans but also to animals. Animals just like humans are usually faced with different kind of illness. This is also a problem that needs to be addressed. The animals will therefore require vaccination and treatment. Unfortunately for the animals there exist no other creatures to be used as specimens to carry out experiments in order to develop vaccines and drugs (Office of Technology Assessment, Congress, 1998). The animals will therefore have to bear the disadvantage and be used to carry out the experiments. However this does not mean that all the species of animals will be used in the experiments. Only a few species like rodents are normally used. It has been quite successful to use the animals in developing their own drugs and vaccines. It is also from these experiments that several discoveries that also benefit humans were made (Gravetter & Forzano, 2011). Advantages of using animals according to scientists Reduced human suffering has been one of the major advantages of using animals according to scientists. Most of these experiments require living things in order to succeed. If humans were to be used then they will undergo a lot of suffering and even develop other health complications that could lead to death. This was proved after slaves were used for live experiments in the eighteenth century. Most human rights group condemned the practice which was eventually abolished. Very few survived and many more developed diseases that could not be cured. Use of animals in experiments has also reduced human deaths. This is because if drugs are manufactured and administered to patients directly without testing its effects, then it may lead to deaths. This was a case in the United States of America in the early twentieth century where patients were administered with drugs directly without testing. It led to the deaths of hundreds. This lead to the legislation where human drugs have to be tested before being administered (Guerrini, 2003). It is also easier and cheaper to use animals for experiments according to scientists. This is because the animals are easily available and easy to get. If the animals die in the course of the experiments, then there will be no legal issue that may lead to huge compensation. This is compared to the fact that humans were to be used for the experiments. Meredith (2010) argues that some experiments are also quite brutal and it would have been difficult for researchers to conduct. This is because the scientists are also human and most of them could find it difficult to perform such experiments if humans were to be used. This would have affected the outcome of the experiments. This reason therefore makes it advantageous for human beings to use animals since most scientists and humans will not fee the same guilt when conducting research on animals Disadvantages of using animals According to animal rights activists it is unethical to subject animals to harsh conditions. This is due to the fact that animals too have feelings just like humans. Most researchers ignore this fact and do not seem to understand the pain and suffering the animals go through during the experiments. This is quite a disadvantage to the animals that are forced to perform various practices for observation. The population of these animals is also affected. This is because a large number of animals are used during the experiments. Large number of birds and rodents are usually used for experimental purpose. This greatly affects their population (Meredith, 2010). During some experiments that mostly involve genetics the animal DNA is usually interfered with. This causes effects to the new generation of animals. Incase such animals are released back into the wild for breeding. Their offspring’s will usually have defects. This is because the genetic codes have been inferred with and as such these new breeds of animals will not live long (National Research Council (U.S.), 1999). Religious views Islam According to Islam animals represent the might and wisdom of Allah. This is based on the writings in the holy book of Quran. The Muslims believe that animals are not equal to man and so are their tasks. The issue of killing an animal is not restricted provided it is done in the most humane manner as possible. According to Islam man can use animals to his advantage but should not manipulate them. This therefore means that use of animals for research is not prohibited provided the animal is we treated during the process and will not be manipulated. Research on the animals should be conducted strictly due to the purpose of benefiting man and if the animals can be kept alive then the better. Christianity According to the Bible, Christians believe that it is wrong to use animals for experimental purposes. The Christian believes that man was given authority by God to take care of the animals. Although Christians believe that God gave man the permission to slaughter or kill some of the animals for food they still do not agree with the use of science for carrying out research. Some of the treatment subjected to the animals by researcher amount to torture of the animals which is not acceptable to Christianity. According to Stephens and Rowan (2005), the use of some animals to carry out the research is also forbidden. This is because some animals that are used during the research are considered unclean and should not be handled by man. This is a fact that Christianity does not condone despite the reasons given by scientists. The use of animals has also brought about some practices which do not go well with Christianity. Genetic research and cloning are not accepted by Christians and believe it is only God who has a right to bring forth life through natural means of reproduction only. Therefore Christians do not agree totally with the issues of using animals for research. Laws concerning use of animals for research The laws governing the use of animals for the purpose of experiments vary from one country to another. The United Nations has also developed policies and guidelines to deal with the issue. In the United States, various laws govern the use of animals for research. The animal welfare act has been put in place to control practices regarding the use of animals for research. The researchers will have to prove that the reason for the research is purely scientific and will be of benefit to the society (Stangor, 2010). During the experiment, the animals should not be subjected to painful procedures and pain relievers should be used at all times. Use of ether to reduce pain should be put into consideration. However the animals can only be subjected to the painful procedures if the use of pain killers will interfere with the experiment. It is also recommended that the researchers should first consult the veterinary department before carrying out any of the procedures. Although the law does not criminalize the use of animals, it should be the last option after all alternatives have failed. Failure to follow these procedures will lead to legal action (Stephens & Rowan, 2005). Animal rights The history of animal rights dates back to the fifteenth century. The activists at the time argued that it was cruel for man to misuse animals for his own benefits. Some argued that since the animals were being subjected to a lot of pain and suffering, the results could not be accurate and others argued that animals were inferior to humans and so the results should not be applied to humans. The experiments were hampered by this activism at the time. In 1822 the animal rights were boosted in Britain after enactment of animal protection law and cruelty to animals which was enacted in 1876. This law was promoted by Charles Darwin who was a great scientist. He argued that the research was torture to animals since they were being killed for the purpose of making simple discoveries. Laboratory welfare act was formed in 1966 in the United States to protect animal rights. An animal right in the world today has become very significant. This has lead to reduction in research methods that are too painful to the animals. The animal rights activists have presented alternatives to use of animals. This includes reducing the number used, replacing the animals with other means and refining the method to reduce pain and suffering. Conclusion According to the paper, researchers have been using animals for research for quite a long time. This has attracted views from people of different religions and walks of life. However the criticism is also not considering the importance of animal research as expressed in the paper. The negative methods have since been reduced and laws have been put in place to control the practice. This has brought animal rights to acceptable levels. References Guerrini, A. (2003). Experimenting with humans and animals: from Galen to animal rights. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Stephens, M. & Rowan, A. (2005). An overview of animal testing. Humane Society of the United States. National Research Council (U.S.) (1999). The Use of drugs in animal feeds: proceedings of a symposium. National Academies. Meredith, C. (2010). Alternatives to Animal Testing Gaining Ground. The Baltimore Sun 26 August 2010. Carbone, L. (2004). What Animals Want. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Office of Technology Assessment, Congress. (1998). Alternatives to animal use in research, testing, and education. NY: DIANE Publishing. Stangor, C. (2010). Clinically Oriented Pharmacology. Quick Review of Pharmacology Gravetter, F. J. & Forzano L. B. (2011). Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences. NY: Cengage Learning. Read More