Animal Testing, The Scientific Violence

By Ujoo Lee

Pungcheon Elementary School

A man comes to me and forcefully makes me drink a bowl of unknown liquid. A few minutes later he comes back again with a needle and wants my eyes this time. Is this a nightmare? Unfortunately, no. It is the reality for many animals that are tested in the science labs. Is the animal testing indeed used for the right need? If we weigh its morality and effectiveness, it is more likely to be called violence than a test.

Animal testing is no different than approving the animal abuse. Animal testing is justified as a ‘scientific test’ on animals for products or drugs. However, this is done in a much more violent way than just getting shots once a week; they will be poked, cut open when alive and force fed. They are treated like tree bark, but these animals do feel pain and fear just like humans. For example, a news in 2018 reported that a lobster escaped a hot spicy seafood stew by cutting his own left claw. Such desperate reaction was obviously a life-or-death threat for him and proved that even crustaceans, although they can’t speak out loud in our language, feel and think. Despite the fact that the animals have thoughts, the commitment of atrocious acts are approved in science labs. This year, there was a situation where scientists took out a Beagle’s eyes to make a sample of a personal eyeball for the 3-D printer. To fulfill our scientific curiosity, animals are coping with the painful abuse.

Then is this at least practical? FDA reported that 92% of the drugs that are made by testing animals fail to pass the clinical trial. Every year, over three million animals are used in animal testing. The lives of those animals are sacrificed to succeed only 8% of the drugs although some people may say it still helps the mankind. However, most of these end up useless due to serious side effects as the Cambridge hospital and Harvard’s school of medicine warned 20% of these drugs to be removed from shelves. We have to realize animals and human bodies are basically different. “These experiments are useless and misleading, because no species can be a model for other including human,” says Reni Gabrovska, a Bulgarian vet.

Most importantly, we now have alternatives other than animal testing. 50 years ago, there was no way to make products and drugs but through animal testing. Today, however, we can use stem cells and VR cells to develop products. Also, we can use DNA from our blood and experiment with chemical reaction. In 2013, the EU announced a law that a cosmetic product that involves animal testing is not allowed to be sold or distributed. We have no longer have any excuses since there are more cheap and fast ways to make products and drugs.

We must change. We must realize that we are continuing uncivilized violence although we have progressed more than 50 years ago. ‘Science and technology’ do not justify everything we do. It cannot be the pretext for doing the wrong. The cruel animal tests should not be allowed for any reason.