Animal TestingFor and Against

Animal experiments are widely used to develop new medicines and to test the safety of other products.

Many of these experiments cause pain to the animals involved or reduce their quality of life in other ways.

Types of vertebrates used in animal testing in Europe in 2005: a total of 12.1 million animals were used.

Animal testing is used for:

Toxicology testing

Cosmetics testing

Drug testing

Education, breeding, and defense

Xenotransplantation

Studies on models of naturally occurring disease and condition.

In favor of animal experiments:

Treatments made possible by animal testing, including cancer and HIV drugs, insulin, etc.

Animal testing helps to ensure the safety of drugs and many other substances humans use

Human harm is reduced and human lives are saved

Using computer models cannot always predict unknown variables that can be discovered with animal testing.

Against animal experiments:

Morality. It causes suffering to animals.

Necessity. The benefits to human beings are not proven.

Usefulness. Testing could be produced in other ways.

The costs. The housing, feeding and treatments of the animals is very expensive.

Alternatives to animal testing

Epidemiological studies

Clinical research

Genetic research

In vitro studies

Stem cell research

In Silica Research

Advanced art models

Ethical arithmetics

Not all scientists are convinced that these tests are valid and useful.

The three categories of alternative techniques in research and testing named 3 R's

Animal experiments only benefit human beings if their results are valid and can be applied to human beings.

The 3 Rs

Reduction

Refinement

Replacement

Reduction

Improving experimental techniques

Improving techniques of data analysis

Sharing information with other researchers

Refinement

Using less invasive techniques

Better medical care

Better living conditions

Replacement

Experimenting on cell cultures instead of whole animals

Using computer models

Studying human volunteers

Using epidemiological studies