We believe that animal testing is both inhumane and unreliable. With so many other techniques
available with today's scientific advances, we find it completely unacceptable that animals are tortured in medical, cosmetics and various other unnecessary research studies,
Before starting our research project on animal testing, we had no idea of the magnitude of animal testing that goes on, let alone what horrific procedures are done to those trusting, defenseless animals.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has been campaigning tirelessly to put an end to all animal experiments. Andrew Butler, PETA's UK representative, states that, " You can not extrapolate from humans to animals because they metabolize things differently" (qtd. in "Health Campaigners").
During our research, we have discovered that there are many alternatives to animal testing that not only are more accurate, but also are safer and more economical. Other options available are using human cells in vitro ( in test tubes or culture dishes) and using computer programs to predict how a human would react to certain substances. An alternative to irritancy and toxicity tests is using cloned human cells to predict skin irritation.
We have come across horrific pictures of animals being experimented on "in the name of science". We have seen rabbits with their necks held immobile in vice type devices while chemicals and other substances are dropped into their eyes. These rabbits scream out in pain and many of them end up breaking their necks in an attempt to free themselves from the vice.
We have also seen pictures of cats with metal spikes driven through their skulls. What was the purpose of this? We can't imagine! We were so sickened and disgusted that we had to stop viewing the pictures.
We want to make it clear that we do not advocate the actions of some radical animal rights groups such as the North American Liberation Front (ALF). This group, it has been reported, breaks into labs and destroys and vandalizes equipment and materials. These kind of maniacal actions will do nothing to advance the campaign to put a halt to animal testing.
We do however support animal rights groups that campaign peacefully, such as PETA, to end animal experiments. Now that we are more educated on the subject of animal testing, we are horrified at what goes on in labs across the country. We are now dedicated to do what we can to educate more people about the kinds of tests and the magnitude of the number of tests that are performed on helpless animals every day. We feel that if we raise awareness about what is going on, more people will join the fight to stop animal testing.
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