Animal testing harms more than 110 million animals all over the world every year. If you didn’t know already, animal testing refers to the procedures performed on animals for research purposes. While these procedures may benefit scientists in conducting researches, they do not benefit animals in any shape or form. On the contrary, these procedures are disrespecting the dignity of an animal. Many animals begin to develop neurotic types of behavior due to the conditions they are put under throughout the research process. For instance, many animals are kept in cages which causes a lack of environmental enrichment that they need to survive. This leads to them behaving abnormally, many animals begin to experience bar-biting, pacing repetitively, head bobbing and etc. This is not fair to the animals, we are forcing them to sacrifice themselves just to test whether a lipstick or shampoo is safe enough for us to use. Unfortunately, animals don’t have the ability to speak but that doesn’t mean they don’t feel the pain. According to RSPCA “There’s no doubt that animals can experience pain and distress as a result of being used in experiments.” Clearly these animal tests do not benefit the animals. Animal testing was first used by Aristotle and Erasistratus, clearly demonstrating how the animal testing method has been around for hundreds of years. As time progressed and technology advanced, alternative testing methods were being discovered. An example of these alternatives is the silico testing method. This method is able to simulate and study body complexes using computational methods, which has also been proven to being 89% accurate. While according to the American Anti-Vivisection Society animal “ Due to the inherent differences between animals and humans, drugs and procedures that work in animals often end up failing in humans.” Proving that animal testing does not provide accurate results like the silico method. So why are we still using a method that harm animals?
We have a chance to make a difference and protect these animals.We don’t have to be of a certain age to begin change. Change starts when a person wants to see a difference made in our community and works to see that change made. As I’ve previously stated, many alternatives methods are being discovered. We already have a solution to this issue, yet we are still continuing to conduct tests on animals. In order to have these alternative methods replace animals testing we must bring awareness to the issue as well as the solution. We can do this by simply using our social media platfiorms to repost articles speaking out about this issue or repost articles that bring awareness to alternative methods. This isn’t the only way we can help however, boycotting companies that test on animals and only buying products from cruelty free companies is another way we can help. This way companies that test on animals will be forced to use non-animal testing methods if they want to stay in business. Or you can simply educate others on this issue and inform them on how they can help. We all have the ability to make change, whether it’s big or small, change is change.
We are already losing many animals due to wildfires, natural disasters, habitat loss etc. We can’t keep losing more animals, this is why I am asking you to help speak up for these animals. They may not be able to verbally communicate the pain they feel but they still feel the pain. You can help change this, anyone can create change it’s all just a matter of whether or not you want to see the change being made and are willing to work to see that change. It’s time we work to protect these animals.
Abygail Paucar – Deerfield Academy – DMSF Class of 2027