Animals were friends or foes1 of humanity at different stages of the human history. In modern times, experiments upon animals have been a breeding ground for spirited debate. Some animal rights activists2 argue that we should ban animal experiments altogether because subjecting animals to experimentation3 is unwarranted on moral grounds, whereas some other people contend that the advancement4 of science necessitates5 animal testing. Personally, I am in favor of the latter view.
Granted, mounting empirical evidence suggests that many animal experiments are performed callously6 without any heed7 to the discomfort8 or pain that laboratory mammals endure. For one thing, improper9 confinement10 of test animals such as locking them up in cramped11 cages is inhumane; and this, in turn, can severely12 disrupt natural biological functions of the test animal. For another, the effects of vaccination13 or vivisection conducted on live mammals can be chilling. In extreme cases, they constitute sheer torture of animals.
Nevertheless, from a more pragmatic standpoint, evidence abounds14 that animal subjects are still an indispensable part of scientific research at this phase of human development. In the first place, drug experimentation on live mammals is, indisputably, far more effectual than experimentation on bacteria or on other lower species in determining drug safety. Medical history informs that drugs that can potentially exert grave side effects on homo sapiens must be tested by pharmaceutical15 companies on live mammals first to ascertain16 their toxicity17. In the second place, in the realm of space research, live animals are still practical alternatives on a flight not considered to be sufficiently18 safe for human astronauts. And I would be hard-pressed to imagine the scenario19 that human lives should be put at stake when the objective of a space mission is merely to identify living creatures reaction to outer space experience. Lastly, lab research about the behavioral tendencies of chimpanzees, gorillas20 or other members of the primate21 group is also a worthy22 endeavor, in light of the fact that it generates outcomes consistently advancing anthropological23 and genetic24 sciences.
To conclude, I concede that experiments upon animals may induce suffering to the test animals. However, it is generally arguable that there are no practical alternatives to this methodology at the current stage of scientific development. On balance , I am convinced that what we should do is to allow animals testing to be continued but at the same time use techniques such as analgesic25, anesthetic26 and tranquilizing drugs to minimize the pain of the test animal.
