Custom «Use of Animals for Research» Essay Paper

In the course of medical development, experiments on live matter have become an integral part of medical research. Striving to discover and explain the peculiarities of body functioning, already ancient Greeks and Romans resorted to vivisecting pigs; the scientific revolution of the Enlightenment era witnessed animal testing becoming the leading trend and a conventional method of medical practice. Nowadays application of animals for testing a variety of products ranging from household compounds and cosmetics to pharmaceutical products is seen as an inevitable part of humankind striving for a healthier existence (Conn, and :Parker, 2008). However, for the past half a century the topic of animal rights has become a moot point that is debated throughout all layers of society, as certain ethical considerations lead to questioning the rightfulness of conducting tests on animals. But with all the respect to animal rights movement, animal testing still appears to be of vital importance for human beings, as despite the suggested alternatives it does not have adequate substitutes, nor does its renunciation provide a healthy perspective for humankind. Considering the issue from the viewpoint of animal rights activists, one faces the idea of animals as beings with their own beliefs, desires and self-consciousness (Lein and Goldberg, 2007). Thus, imposing human will on them in the form of violent experiments is viewed as infringement on animal rights. Moreover, in the majority of cases the standard research methods cause pain, suffering and discomfort to animal and as it has been scientifically proved that animals do feel pain, such practices are classified as cruel and not supported for humanistic reasons. Laboratory animals freedom is limited by cages in which they spend their lives; to make matters worse, after the experiments, the animals who participated are doomed to destruction. All of the above-mentioned presents the animal research activities as a process of animal confinement, abuse and massacre by more powerful creatures, the humans (Leslie and Sustein, 2007).