One of the importance of animal testing is that it verifies the accuracy of drugs.
Animals have
been used to drugs to ensure that they are fit for human consumption. These animals have helped to
ensure that the drugs are given to human beings help them. Through these tests, the side effects of these
drugs can be detected early to avoid possible human casualties. These drugs have helped solve some of
the world’s greatest epidemics and potentially saved the human race from some of the deadliest
diseases. The effect of certain drugs on animals determines whether they are fit for human consumption
and have helped in perfecting human medicine. Medicine researchers have been able to remove a
significant amount of toxins from drugs and reduced the severity of others by the use of animals. The
drugs developed by animal testing not only benefit human but other animals as well.
Animal research has helped in the formation of theories that apply to human life. Scientists have
observed animals in various circumstances and used their observations to develop methods applicable to
human life. In psychology, animals have played a crucial role in the development of psychological
theories. For example, Ivan Pavlov used the dog to develop the motivation theory. The response of the
dog to certain stimuli helped him develop a theory that has proved applicable to humans even in the
modern day (Rasmussen 65). Psychology has relied heavily on animal testing and helped develop
theories and approaches used to develop human and animal characters. Pavlov’s experiment has helped
motivate behavioral modifications and training. Animal testing, in this case, has helped in human and
animal behavior modification and fostered learning. The benefits of animal testing are not limited to the
medical field but are also beneficial to the other fields like education and politics.
Animals have also benefited from animal research in many ways. Some of the animals used in the
experiments have had problems and diseases that threatened their lives. Animal testing was not only
beneficial in restoring their health but also helped in curing other animals with similar conditions. The
notion that only healthy animals are used in research is wrong because there have been many cases where
sick animals have been used to find a cure. Secondly, the medicine got from the animal testing do not just
benefit humans but other animals as well. Many animals with the incurable disease have benefited from
these treatments and made life easy for their keepers to maintain them.
Animal research has been used to torture animals in some cases. Some scientists have exceeded
the humanistic measure and tortured animals during their research. Some of the scientific experiments
have put animals through severe mental and physical pain during their experiments. These scientists fail
to consider animals as living creature with feelings as well. Some of the experiments have left the animals
both physically and mentally damaged. A perfect example of such a scenario is at the University of
California where scientists saw the eyes of a monkey leaving it permanently blind. The experiment was
not logical and caused the monkey severe pain. This experiment was an infringement of the animal rights
and caused an outrage from animal rights defenders. The nature of the experiment involving animal
testing should be logical and cause the minimum pain to the animal.
Another disadvantage of animal testing is the difference in the nature of animals tested. The
biological makeup of different animals differs and results collected from an animal might not match those
in humans or other animals. Relying on animal testing increasing medicine for human consumption might
lead to dangerous reactions. The use of animals for testing might lead to wastage of animal life because
the results might never help in treating human beings. Before involving animals in experiments, scientists
should first verify the nature of the animal and relevance to a certain study
Works Cited
Rasmussen, Jeffrey L., D. W. Rajecki, and Heather D. Craft. "Humans' Perceptions of
Animal Mentality: Ascriptions of Thinking." Journal of Comparative Psychology
1993 Print.
