Whether or not using animals for testing various pharmaceutical, cosmetical, or other products is ethically acceptable has been a point of debate for quite a long time and especially so with growing popularity of eco-friendly ideas. Thoughts on the topic can ultimately be divided into two groups – ‘animal testing is unavoidable’ and ‘animal testing is unacceptable.’ The goal of this essay is to explore both of them as well as share my own view.
Since I believe the part of the pro-testing argument which doesn’t take animal cruelty into consideration is utterly outrageous, I am simply going to dismiss it for the purposes of the essay. Instead, I would like to focus on the argument saying that sometimes (for instance, for medical reasons) using animals is the one viable option. This opinion follows from the fact that experimental drugs can lead to grave concequences if given to human beings first and thus it is necessary to initially see how creatures with similar biological traits react.
The polar opposite of this is the belief that in order to be up to moral standards, all relevant research has to be conducted without any animal use. People who think this is true assume that the availability and straightforwardness of the animal testing method cannot possible outweigh the sheer amount of suffering inflicted upon the subjects of such experiments, and what stems from this view is that the method must be ceased and any alternatives implemented.
My personal stance on the matter is that we do indeed have to stop the use of animals in non-crucial industries such as cosmetics, however it remains, and in all likelihood will remain, the only way to truly estimate the possible side effects of a given medical treatment. As much as I value and respect rats, I would much rather have them as first subjects of a cancer clinical trial than actual cancer patients. It has to be mentioned though, that in order to be humane we have an obligation to make sure the animal testing is absolutely necessary before we conduct it even for pharmaceutical purposes.