Society

Animal Testing


Animal testing means doing research using experiments on animals. The testing is conducted inside universities, medical schools, and pharmaceutical companies. The purpose of testing and the number of animals that are used are various. Animal testing has engendered a lot of controversy.


Pro


Human beings encounter many illnesses. For this reason, people conduct a lot of experiments that develop new medicine and medical technology. In the course of experiments, many animals are killed testing medicine because using medicines that are not guaranteed to be safe for people is very dangerous. Animal testing engenders a lot of controversy. Nevertheless, animal testing must be conducted.

First, researchers can see results from animal testing instead of administering medicines that are not guaranteed to be safe to human patients. No medication is completely free of possible side effects. If researchers administer medicines that are not guaranteed to be safe to a person, it could put the patient’s life in danger. For ths reason, researchers test the medicine on animals.

Next, some people say animal experiments are not reasonable because animals are also living things. However, for people to survive and to develop, animal experiments are inevitable. Now, we vaccinate against polio, measles, and tuberculosis, and we take medicines against diseases. These vaccines and medicines were developed from the results of animal testing. If we don’t use animals, it is hard to prevent illness and develop new technology.

Lastly, animal testing is the most effective experiment. Orangutans and monkeys have bodies similar to human beings, so researchers want to experiment on them. To see real effects, using animals is the most effective experiment.

Many countries do animal experiments, but animal experiments do not mean that they regard animals’ lives lightly. There is a 3R principle for animals’ rights in animal testing. The 3R principle means Reduction (people use animals as little as possible), Replacement (people try to find alternative ways instead of using animals), and Refinement (people try to reduce animals’ pain).

Through animal testing, we can develop beneficial things for human beings like vaccines. If these experiments help people to live, that is very valuable.


By Park Ji-hyun
KMG Reporter
qmsl3500@kmu.ac.kr


Con


As many drugs are developed, we can cure an illness with newly developed medicine. We use animals as subjects of testing to develop new medicines. However, we do not think about animals’ rights. We have to consider the animals’ rights.

First, animals have lives and feel pain. Animals are used for humans’ convenience. People regard their lives as meaningless. Animals have a right to live and not to be tortured for testing. They should not be sacrificed for human beings.

Next, the physical structures of animals are different from people, so results from animal testing is not sure to cure human diseases. In other words, if you use medicine developed through animal testing, you can have side effects because animals’ physiology is different from humans.’ It is better to experiment on people directly. Lee Ho-wang, who found the Han Tan virus, used bacteria that are parasitic on other animals and made a vaccine without animal testing. We have to find a better way to follow in his footsteps.

Finally, animal testing is only for the greed of people. There is little scientific meaning to animal testing because animals and people share only 1% of diseases. Animal testing which has little scientific meaning become needless killing. There are many other ways to testing without using animals.

We should acknowledge the dignity of animals. It is abuse and murder to testing on animals only for our convenience. I hope that scientists think about animals’ rights once more.


By Park So-hyun
KMG Junior Reporter
selina1263@kmu.ac.kr