Is the End Near for Animal Testing?
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

The National Humane Education Society (NHES)
April 2013

We are entering a future where monkeys don’t have to wear lipstick and cats aren’t dissected in human anatomy classes. Where mice don’t have to contract human illnesses and beagles aren’t poisoned in toxicity tests. Help us move into that future: write letters urging schools and companies to replace animals with technology and support cosmetics companies that do not test on animals.

In the United States and Europe, animal advocates are finally seeing progress for animals in research laboratories. Chimpanzees previously used for research are being sent to retirement facilities, cosmetics sold in Europe may not be tested on animals, and new research is proving that mice and other animals are not effective models for humans. These positive changes were the result of two major forces coming together at the right moment in history: empathy and technology.

Since we began experimenting on animals, there have been people who found the practice distasteful. Recently, a poem from 1773 was discovered. In it, a lab assistant lamented the fate of the mice used for tuberculosis research. Unfortunately, society can be slow to progress, even when the most ethical path is clear. Researchers have stubbornly clung to using animals in research, even though their use is often outdated and inhumane; and the public has largely supported them. In the past several years, the tide has turned as more and more people have begun asking for more humane research models.

Technology is coming up with the solutions. Previously, researchers could attempt to justify their actions with the excuse that animals were the best things available to test on. Now, even that argument is falling flat. Microchips and computer systems imitate human organ systems. Complex human models, such as the TraumaMan and similar models, replace pigs and other animals in life support classes. New innovations continue to improve and build upon these alternatives to animal testing. Not only is it unethical to continue to use animals, it is also becoming obsolete.

We are entering a future where monkeys don’t have to wear lipstick and cats aren’t dissected in human anatomy classes. Where mice don’t have to contract human illnesses and beagles aren’t poisoned in toxicity tests. Help us move into that future: write letters urging schools and companies to replace animals with technology and support cosmetics companies that do not test on animals.


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