nathan1988
Sep 10, 2009
Essays / The Use of Animals for Medical Research [5]
I am still trying to find where i can add in a couple more citations (and i dont have my works cited page yet so im not listing it here so plz dont hit me with plagrism for the 2 places ive sited some information) But here is pretty much the rough draft of my essay.
Why the use of animals for research should be continued.
The use of animals in laboratory research is a very well known debate. With the use of animals for research, many people wonder if the animals are treated well and if they are taken care of properly. Some of these people even go to the extreme trying to shut down some places they deem inhumane. While others only think about how much we gain by having living things to look at without having to blindly test every theory we have on human patients while just hoping nothing bad happens. Personally, I think of both of these sides and when it comes down to it, I have already made my decision. For humans' health, animals' health, and furthering our knowledge in medicine and medical practices, the human race needs to continue using animals for medical research.
I do not know about every other person in the world, but when it comes down to me dying compared to an animal dying, I am definitely going to choose the animal to die. What most people do not know is that around 90% of the animals used in research are rodents such as rats or mice(NCABR 13). Most of those rodents are specifically bread just for that reason, to be used in research labs. There are other animals, such as dogs, pigs, and cows that are used in research too, but once again, the majority is rodents. Most of the surgeries are non-invasive procedures in which the animal feels very little pain or no pain at all. In cases where the animal does feel large amounts of pain, the animal is usually injected with an anesthetic. The only better alternative to using animals to understand how medicine and medical procedures work would be to use humans, and I know I am not volunteering my body while I am still alive.
What happens if I bring my dog into an animal clinic because it is sick one day, only to find out they have never seen something like this sickness before, or they do not know how to treat the sickness that it has? My dog will die. Every day scientists are finding new ways to help not only humans, but animals too. The whole reason they are doing most of these tests on animals is because certain animals are really close to humans when it comes downs to organs and how the body works. Because of this closeness, animals can be susceptible to many diseases humans can. So the more we know about how these diseases affect these animals the better we can fight them. For example:
The canine role in diabetes research has paid off for dogs too since diabetes is one of the most common endocrine disorders to occur in the dog. In modem veterinary medicine, diabetes has become a treatable disease in dogs. Management of the condition is achieved through insulin therapy and diet modification, similar to what is prescribed for humans(NCABR 12).
Without using animals in research labs, our progression with medicine and medical sciences would slow down dramatically. Every day new medicines and practices are coming out that, without the help of animals, would never make it to us. Well, they might make it to us, but only after blindly testing on random human volunteers that could possibly die just as easily from the testing as a rat would if used in the humans place. If it was not for animal testing, both polio and leprosy would probably be wide spread and still a major threat today. While they are still a small threat to worry about in some countries, they are very much gone from the more industrialized countries such as the United States because of animal testing. Animal testing is a very vital part of this worlds learning. Without it we would be in the dust about many diseases and even minor coughs and colds.
I cannot imagine a world without the use of animals for food, for clothing, or for pets. Where a dog or even a rat was considered a moral equal of a human. Just as equally, I cannot imagine a world without animal testing. It would make the world a lot harsher of a place without it. We would have two other options, either stop researching diseases and medicines and attempt to treat them as they come without any knowledge of them, or have humans sacrifice themselves in the name of science so we may test various procedures and drugs on them after infecting them with something that could very well kill them. I think I would rather stick with doing it to rats.
I am still trying to find where i can add in a couple more citations (and i dont have my works cited page yet so im not listing it here so plz dont hit me with plagrism for the 2 places ive sited some information) But here is pretty much the rough draft of my essay.
Why the use of animals for research should be continued.
The use of animals in laboratory research is a very well known debate. With the use of animals for research, many people wonder if the animals are treated well and if they are taken care of properly. Some of these people even go to the extreme trying to shut down some places they deem inhumane. While others only think about how much we gain by having living things to look at without having to blindly test every theory we have on human patients while just hoping nothing bad happens. Personally, I think of both of these sides and when it comes down to it, I have already made my decision. For humans' health, animals' health, and furthering our knowledge in medicine and medical practices, the human race needs to continue using animals for medical research.
I do not know about every other person in the world, but when it comes down to me dying compared to an animal dying, I am definitely going to choose the animal to die. What most people do not know is that around 90% of the animals used in research are rodents such as rats or mice(NCABR 13). Most of those rodents are specifically bread just for that reason, to be used in research labs. There are other animals, such as dogs, pigs, and cows that are used in research too, but once again, the majority is rodents. Most of the surgeries are non-invasive procedures in which the animal feels very little pain or no pain at all. In cases where the animal does feel large amounts of pain, the animal is usually injected with an anesthetic. The only better alternative to using animals to understand how medicine and medical procedures work would be to use humans, and I know I am not volunteering my body while I am still alive.
What happens if I bring my dog into an animal clinic because it is sick one day, only to find out they have never seen something like this sickness before, or they do not know how to treat the sickness that it has? My dog will die. Every day scientists are finding new ways to help not only humans, but animals too. The whole reason they are doing most of these tests on animals is because certain animals are really close to humans when it comes downs to organs and how the body works. Because of this closeness, animals can be susceptible to many diseases humans can. So the more we know about how these diseases affect these animals the better we can fight them. For example:
The canine role in diabetes research has paid off for dogs too since diabetes is one of the most common endocrine disorders to occur in the dog. In modem veterinary medicine, diabetes has become a treatable disease in dogs. Management of the condition is achieved through insulin therapy and diet modification, similar to what is prescribed for humans(NCABR 12).
Without using animals in research labs, our progression with medicine and medical sciences would slow down dramatically. Every day new medicines and practices are coming out that, without the help of animals, would never make it to us. Well, they might make it to us, but only after blindly testing on random human volunteers that could possibly die just as easily from the testing as a rat would if used in the humans place. If it was not for animal testing, both polio and leprosy would probably be wide spread and still a major threat today. While they are still a small threat to worry about in some countries, they are very much gone from the more industrialized countries such as the United States because of animal testing. Animal testing is a very vital part of this worlds learning. Without it we would be in the dust about many diseases and even minor coughs and colds.
I cannot imagine a world without the use of animals for food, for clothing, or for pets. Where a dog or even a rat was considered a moral equal of a human. Just as equally, I cannot imagine a world without animal testing. It would make the world a lot harsher of a place without it. We would have two other options, either stop researching diseases and medicines and attempt to treat them as they come without any knowledge of them, or have humans sacrifice themselves in the name of science so we may test various procedures and drugs on them after infecting them with something that could very well kill them. I think I would rather stick with doing it to rats.