Animal Research, Yay or Nay? Know the facts before you decide

Animal testing is and always will be a controversial topic with extremists on both sides, each with a valuable and distinct opinion to share.

However, it is not as cut and dry as the picture above shows because clearly both are living creatures whose lives are important. Yet, when one sees this picture you may definitely say "the little girl" because she's obviously more important, right? Before you make up your mind it is important to hear out both sides, become an informed reader, and form your own opinion on what is right, whether it be for, against, or both. 

First, we need some reasons for conducting animal research.

• Improving both human and animal health.

     You have heard of vaccines and antibiotics, right? These are not just used on humans, but on animals too, to fight against parasites, viruses, and other diseases.

• Curiosity

    We are interested in knowing how the anatomy and physiology of their bodies compare to ours and what makes them different and how those differences shape who and what we are and why it matters. This broad topic is what all the sciences are based on; it is the reason for studying biology, chemistry, physiology, psychology, and many other sciences.

• Similar underlying biological systems

The fact is many animal models are very similar to our human model allowing results to be generalized to humans. Animal research allows the researcher to decide if human testing should be started on a certain protocol or procedure after the animal trials were a success.

• Undergraduate/Graduate Research

As undergraduate and graduate students, we are encouraged to become involved in research opportunities to become well rounded and appealing students to potential future graduate schools looking to recruit new students or highly competitive jobs that require experience.

While these are only a few oversimplified reasons, it is important to think of the implications they carry. The video below shows some of the reasons why animals are used for research as well as answers FAQs we all think when it comes to animal testing.

The Ethical Debate

While I now believe in using animals in research, when I made the decision to work in a research lab that uses animals (rats in my case) I had to stop and think if this was the right decision for me. I chose to take the opportunity because there is really no comparison in actually seeing a behavior and being the one to manipulate and obtain new promising results. Upon starting, I had to take several training sessions in lab safety and animal handling to understand the importance involved in the care of these animals as protected by the IACUC. Overtime you realize that you would never want to hurt your "participants" or be negligent to their needs.

Nevertheless, this is my opinion and nothing more.

Still unsure? You might want to take this quick survey