Opinions

Animal testing is cruel, unreliable and unnecessary

Is eye shadow on a loved one’s Christmas list this year? Do you plan on surprising a friend with a cream that they have wanted for some time? Before you purchase that gift, you should double check the company that you are buying from.

“Each year, more than 100 million animals-including mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs and birds are killed in U.S laboratories,” according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ website.

Many animals are needlessly suffering because cosmetic companies continue to test their products on animals.

Animal testing is a real problem in the United States. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t even require companies to use animals for testing, cosmetic companies do so anyway and force animals to inhale toxic chemicals, pour substances into their eyes and rub chemicals onto their skin. Often times, this results in the death of the animal. According to the Humane Society, “Pain relief is rarely provided, and the animals used are killed at the end of each test.”

All of these tests cause needless suffering and pain to all of these animals. Animals are constantly being tortured before dying horrific deaths. All of this suffering is for the sake of beauty. All of this suffering can be prevented.

Some may argue that animal testing is necessary. They may say that it is better to test the safety of a product on an animal before they test it on a human. However, there are more viable options that scientists can use now instead of animals, thereby eliminating the suffering and animal cruelty that these animals are forced to deal with on a massive scale. There are now sophisticated tests that can be done on human cells; not only can this stop animal testing, but it can also provide more accurate results as well.

Some may also argue that animals are necessary for scientific research. Some people believe that understanding animal research is vital because many medical breakthroughs are the result of animal testing. Some scientists believe that in order to study illness and find cures for them, they have to first test the cures on animals. So they will infect the animal and then find a way to cure it.

“At more than 1,000 laboratories across the country, monkeys are addicted to drugs, cats are deafened and have holes drilled into their skulls, sheep and pigs have their skin burned off and rats have their spinal cords crushed,” according to PETA’s website.

This form of animal testing is also unnecessary and unreliable: According to the National Vivisection Society, each species responds differently to drugs and other substances. What could be poisonous for you and me, could be eaten by an animal without damaging effects.”

Therefore the results are often inconclusive. They are biologically different then we are. So how can we expect a mouse to have the same results as a human would? Their pain, their suffering and their deaths are completely unnecessary, especially when they may not even yield the correct results that we as humans look for.

Just look at your own pets and try to imagine them being tortured in the name of science or beauty; can you imagine someone ever hurting your beloved pet? Try imagining this on a massive scale: millions of animals like your pet are suffering. Is it really worth hurting animals for our own personal needs?

There are many alternatives to the suffering of animals when it comes to research purposes, and the American Humane Society and PETA offer many great resources to help you find more information on animal testing and what can be done to prevent this cruel injustice.

So, if you decide to purchase cosmetic products for your loved one’s during the holidays, make sure that you purchase a product from a cruelty free company. You’ll take money out of the pockets of companies that torture animals, and maybe help to save millions of animals in the process.

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