What You Can Do

I learned so much from researching animal rights and it really opened my eyes to understand what horrible things they endure. I read about different procedures animals go through during testing and I was saddened by what I read, I couldn't believe scientists were allowed to literally kill innocent animals. I was also appalled by the amount of animals not protected under law and how their deaths go unnoticed or more likely ignored. I also couldn't believe animals were kept in such crude environments that they could be driven to insanity. I read different articles about animal testing and how its unnecessary and does not provide information people think it does. Therefore, I think animal testing should be stopped and not be allowed. I took away three things, the awful environments, the different types of testing, and most of all the worthlessness of it.  Everyone can help out by offering donations and not purchasing products that support animal testing. Also protest whenever hearing about plans to hurt animals. I hope this blog showed people what animal testing really does and made them realize it must be stopped.

"The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but "Can they suffer?"

- Jeremy Bentham

Alternatives to Animal Testing

I have already discussed how animal experimentation is unnecessary so it seems fair to discuss alternatives. Some scientists have actually realized animal experimentation is inhumane and inapplicable. They have moved on to using "in vitro" methods which test humans cells and tissues and also "in silico" methods which are computer modeling. They also use human volunteers who willingly choose to be examined (not like animals). Some institutes have even created "organs-on-chips"which contain human cells to replicate the human organ system. The chips offer way more information about diseases in the human body than heinous animal tests did. Computer modeling allows scientists to see the progression of disease and hazardous contaminants in the body. Human volunteers have a method called "micro dosing" in which they are given a small dose of an experimental drug to see how the body reacts. These different methods are great alternatives to the physical and metal pain animals experience when tested. More institutes and companies need to use these methods because they ACTUALLY provide the information they are looking for and don't involve killing innocent animals.

"Alternatives to Animal Testing." Www.peta.org. Web. 16 May 2016.

Fur Trade

Fur Trade is another form of animal cruelty.

"Eighty-five percent of the fur industry's skins come from animals living captive in fur factory farms." The animals are simply a money maker and aren't treated with respect they deserve. Minks and foxes are the most commonly farmed fur animals. The animals that are farmed have a short life span and are housed in small cages where disease and parasites live among them. By being confined so long and overcrowded many animals are driven to insanity. They only get a few drops of water (if that) and are only fed meat unfit for humans. There is no law that protects animals in fur farms. Their are sickening methods used on the animals such as electrocution, skinning, and gassing. People don't realize fur productions actually destroys the environment. "The amount of energy needed to produce a real fur coat from ranch-raised animal skins is approximately 20 times that needed to produce a fake fur garment". We are choosing to hurt animals to create clothing to improve our style, 

but was it worth an animal's life?

“Killing an animal to make a coat is sin. It wasn't mean to be, and we have no right to do it. A woman gains status when she refuses to see anything killed to be put on her back. Then she's truly beautiful."

-Doris Day

"Inside the Fur Industry:Factory Farms." Www.peta.org. Web. 13 May 2016.

Pros and Cons

Pros

(If you call hurting innocent animals a pro, shame on you)

Cons

• Animal testing is inhumane and cruel.
• "According to Humane Society International, animals used in experiments are commonly subjected to force feeding, forced inhalation, food and water deprivation, prolonged periods of physical restraint, the infliction of burns and other wounds to study the healing process, the infliction of pain to study its effects and remedies, and "killing by carbon dioxide asphyxiation, neck-breaking, decapitation, or other means."
• There are reliable alternatives to animal testing.
• " In vitro (in glass) testing, such as studying cell cultures in a petri dish, can produce more relevant results than animal testing because human cells can be used."

• Drugs that pass animal tests aren't necessarily safe, the sleeping pill thalidomide caues newborns to have deformities even though it went through animal testing.

•  95% of animals used in experiments are not protected by the Animal Welfare Act
• This is a hideous fact and needs to be changed.
• Animal Experiments are flawed and wastes animals lives.
• " Since the majority of animals used in biomedical research are killed during or after the experiments, and since many suffer during the studies, the lives and wellbeing of animals and routinely for poor research ."

Animals should NOT be used for medical research it is just wrong and inhumane.

"Should Animals Be Used For Scientific or Commercial Testing?" Www.ProCon.org. Web. 9 May 2016

Companies that Test on Animals

The Culprits

Many companies test their products on animals even though its not required. They choose to abuse these animals against their will. Both Cosmetics and Self-Care Products companies test on animals. These companies have enough past information to ensure a safe product as an alternative to testing the chemicals on these innocent animals. During this process no pain relief is provided so animals must endure the continuous pain of the process. Many of the animals cannot survive so they end up dying. The Humane Cosmetics Act has been introduced, but has not made as much progress as it should.  
These are companies that test their products on animals.



We,the people, must stand up and fight against animal cosmetic testing.

"Companies That STILL Test on Animals." Www.peta.org. Web. 5 May 2016.

The Effects on the Animals And What Environment They Are Contained In

VIVISECTION: the practice of performing operations on live animals for the purpose of experimentation or scientific research


This is the worst form of abuse on our society and it is LEGAL. This inhumane treatment of animals is actually legal and permitted. Animals in labs are caged not being able to express regular behavior. They rarely get to feel sunshine, but instead feel the coldness of concrete. They are nutrient deprived, crowded with other animals, and have to endure noisy environments. This type of living causes these animals to become stressed and may even be driven insane because they have been trapped for years in confinement. Animals have to endure the environment they live in and then face the procedures they are forced to perform. "In research and testing, animals are subjected to experiments that can include everything from testing new drugs to infecting with diseases, poisoning for toxicity testing, burning skin, causing brain damage, implanting electrodes into the brain, maiming, blinding, and other painful and invasive procedures". In toxicity testing animals receive the testing substance daily for 2 years with no recovery. Many die before they complete the study or those who live are killed. Genetic engineering creates much suffering for animals and kills many of them, suffering from abnormalities and diseased conditions. 



“I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.” 
― Abraham Lincoln

“Humanity's true moral test, its fundamental test…consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals.” 
― Milan Kundera

“Animals can communicate quite well. And they do. And generally speaking, they are ignored” 
― Alice Walker

" Harm and Suffering." Www.neavs.org. Web. 2 May 2016

What Exactly Are Animals Tested For?

Animals are tested for medical research and cosmetics, The Humane Society offers eye-opening information on this topic. There are a wide range of items considered "cosmetics" which the Food and Drug Administration define as "articles intended to be applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance without affecting the body's structure or functions." This basically means that animals can be tested on with makeup and even household cleaning items. Animals such as mice, guinea pigs, rabbits are exposed to chemicals either by having them rubbed onto their shaved skin or even dropped in their eyes. They may also be given the lethal dose test which is when they are forced to swallow a chemical to help scientists determine the dose that caused death. Another test is on mice and rats where they are exposed to a chemical during their whole lifetime to see if it causes cancer. Cosmetic products are not required to be tested on animals for safety. Instead of testing on animals companies can use previous knowledge to use safe chemicals.

"Fact Sheet: Cosmetic Testing."Www.humanesociety.org. Web. 28. Apr. 2016.

The Legality Behind It

Animals are subjected to harsh treatments in laboratories this is allowed because many aren't protected under law. The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) addresses the standard of care animals receive in testing laboratories yet 95% are excluded such as rats, mice, birds, etc. That means we have a law that basically protects no research animals' rights and is just there for show. The Public Health Service oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which channels infectious diseases and studies the subjects reactions. When the facilities the animals are tested are found indecent there is no follow up inspection. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees the 12,000 research facilities (only 120 inspectors available) and some are never inspected and many go unpenalized. However there are committees to protect the animals such as the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees that are self chosen, but have no power to change things.

Not So Fun Facts

1. Most animals aren't legally protected in laboratories.

2. Most inspectors are not empowered to do anything when violations have occurred.

3. Many labs pass inspections even when providing an indecent environment.

  

Legal testing includes burning, poisoning, starving, forced smoking, mutilating, blinding, electrocuting, drowning, and dissecting without painkillers. These forms of torture are legal and can be performed on animals against their will, these acts cannot go unnoticed and must be stopped. The

Animal Legal Defense Fund provided amazing information to pull from.

"Animal Testing and the Law." Aldf.org. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

Why Animal Experimentation is Unecessary

Animal Experimentation

Today I will look into animal experimentation and why it is unnecessary and has no benefits. I found an excellent website explaining that animal experiments are a "bad science". The fact is animals have a totally different anatomy than humans. Scientists find all type of cures for animals such as a cure for cancer and Alzheimer's disease, but none of this ever can ever be applied to humans because they just aren't the same. These cures are found  by inserting different toxins into the animals or purposely puncturing something to allow the disorder to form and thus allowing them to cure it.  The fact of the matter is these artificially induced symptoms do not compare to the human disorders they need to replicate. They don't take into consideration the origins of where these disorders form such as diets, habits, and environmental influences, among many others. "It is not possible to predict whether a human will react identically or differently based on the results of experiments conducted on animals." This quote CLEARLY explains how animal experiments are unreliable and can't show whether humans can benefit from their sacrifice. These animals are tested against their will and its all for nothing.

Some Statistics on Animal Experimentation

1. "92% of experimental drugs that are safe and effective in animals fail in human clinical trials because they are too dangerous or don’t work".

2. “Currently, nine out of ten experimental drugs fail in clinical studies because we cannot accurately predict how they will behave in people based on laboratory and animal studies,”

These statistics prove how animal experimentation is unecessary and provides no information for medical research.

Gericke, Corina, Dr. "Why Animals Experiments Are Not Necessary."Www.aerzte-gegen-tierversuche.de. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

Why I created this blog...

Hey everyone this is my first blog post so it provides some information on what I will be continually discussing . I have created this blog specifically for discussing Animal Rights and how they are experimented on for Medical Research. I am very interested in this topic because I believe animals are not just guinea pigs for experiments, they have just as much rights as us. "Each year, more than 100 million animals...are killed in U.S. laboratories for biology lessons, medical training, curiosity-driven experimentation, and chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics testing". This statistic is heartbreaking to think that some of our household pets that we consider family are being treated so awfully and even being killed. I hope by looking further into this topic we can find a way to stop this cruelty towards animals. And answer the question, why animals are being tested on and treated poorly when these experiments have done nothing to help disease in humans, but rather harm the animals themselves.

"Experiments on Animals: Overview." Www.peta.org. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.