Why Animal Testing Should Be Abandoned

By Han Yun-seol, Seokcheon Middle School

From a long time ago, people used animals to test medicines and makeup. Also, people around the world say that animal testing is a huge issue. Then, what is the actual meaning of animal testing?

According to Wikipedia, animal testing is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior of biological systems. There are a lot of debates going on with this topic. For example, should animals be used in scientific experiments or not?

I believe that animal testing should be abandoned. The first reason for my opinion is that based on NGOs such as PETA and BUA, an arthritis medicine named Ofren was tested on animals and caused 61 deaths. And similarly, Eraldine, a heart medicine, caused 23 deaths during animal testing. Conversely, penicillin, which does not cause any side effects in humans, causes limb deformities in rat fetuses. So, I believe that animal tests are not that trustworthy, and we should think about the animals’ lives.

Secondly, animal testing can be replaced due to the advancement of science and technology. According to Google research, Dr. Palmer, who is against animal testing, said that animal testing only has a 20 to 40 percent concordance rate with humans, but alternative testing, such as using artificial skin cells, is achieving a rate of over 90 percent. So, alternative testing is ethical and efficient. In addition, new scientific technologies such as human tissue engineering, stem cell technology, and computer modeling have been developed. Therefore, animal testing not only sacrifices animal lives, but it is also an unethical practice of large-scale animal abuse.

Lastly, people do not have the right to make animals suffer. Human beings force animals to participate in animal experiments despite knowing that experiments are dangerous and painful. As human beings, we possess free will and consciousness. We understand that making other creatures suffer is wrong. Therefore, we should not subject animals to cruel treatment through these tests.