One of the most sensitive aspects of our relationship with animals is the use of animals in laboratory sciences. Some manufactures of cosmetics and household products still conduct painful and useless tests on live animals, even though no law requires them not to. Some people, called anti-vivisectionists, are at one extreme in their concern. They want to abolish all experiments on live animals. At the other extreme there are those who say that it is quite all right for us to do whatever we like to animals. They say that God gave us such a right, since it is written in the bible (Genesis 1:26) that man has dominion over all creatures.(8) If these tests give some educational value, add to scientific knowledge, or can help improve human health, they argue that it is worth killing animals or subjecting them to painful experiments. The following pages are not written from specific point of view, nevertheless, it will explain the practice of animal research and testing.
Medicines, household products, food, and basically everything involved in the life of an average person has to under go a form of testing before it is legal to be placed on a shelf and available to the public. The FDA requires animal testing on pharmaceuticals and other products. The same tests are performed on every medical procedure that is introduced to surgeons. Since the only way to directly mimic the human body is to use it itself, scientists were forced to find the closest and best alternative. That is where animals were introduced to the medical profession. .
Experimentation on animals date back to as early as 500 BC, making this form of medical validation one of the oldest known to humans.(9) It is not only one of the oldest but one of the most informative. Scientists use animals in medical research to study how the body works and how to diagnose, cure, and prevent disease. Researchers also use animals for tests to try to protect the public from dangerous chemicals, such as those included in detergents, bleach, and other household products.
