Is animal testing Good or Bad ?

By Louisa Hart

What is animal testing?• Animal testing is the use of

animals in research and development projects. To test the safety of substances such as foods or drugs

• Right now it is estimated that 50 to 100 million vertebrate animals are used annually but many more invertebrates.

• Information taken from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/animal+testing and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_testing

What animals are used in testing?• 90% of the animals used are rats

and mice. They are used to test drug treatments for diseases and various kinds of cancer.

• Dogs, cats, and primates combined account for less than 1% of all the animals used in research.

• We live a healthier life because of animal testing (this is an opinion)

• Information taken from http://www.the-aps.org/pa/animals/quest4.html

Why do some people think animal testing is Good?

• Animal testing has helped to develop vaccines against diseases like rabies, polio, measles, mumps, rubella and TB.

• Antibiotics, HIV drugs, insulin and cancer treatments rely on animal tests. Other testing methods aren't advanced enough.

• Operations on animals helped to develop organ transplant and open-heart surgery techniques

• A lot of people would not be alive without these scientific discoveries

• Lots of objects you use have been tested on animals to make sure they are ok for you

• Information taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/teachers/citizenship_11_14/subject_areas/human_rights/newsid_3430000/3430169.stm

Why do some people think animal testing is bad?

• It's cruel, unnecessary, and expensive. They believe that more accurate testing can be carried out with computers (opinion).

• 2.73 million animals were used in tests in 2002. That was an increase of 110,000.

• 100 million animals are used in testing worldwide. Between 10 -11 million were used in the European Union

• Animals are bred for research but subsequently killed as "surplus" - of which campaigners claim there are millions but are not included in statistics.

• Household products are still tested on animals in Britain today. In the Draize Eye Test, irritants are dripped into the eyes of Rabbits.

• Information from http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/studentlife/debate/2008/44_shouldanimalsbetestedon.shtml

Where can I get more information?• http://vivisection-absurd.org.uk/x33.

html

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/teachers/citizenship_11_14/subject_areas/human_rights/newsid_3430000/3430169.stm

• http://www.gurl.com/findout/fastfacts/pages/0,,622679,00.html

• http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/animal-testing/

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/studentlife/debate/2008/44_shouldanimalsbetestedon.shtml

Thank you

What do you think?