Animal Testing Is Wrong, Plain And Simple
I am against animal testing as I’m sure many vegans are. It’s in the definition of vegan, after all:
vegan: (noun) person who seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.
I have many compelling reasons to avoid products tested on animals. And I have many compelling reasons to encourage the abolition of all animal testing. My main reason, however, is that animal testing is unethical. It’s wrong.
Just like it’s wrong to experiment on children, people of color, disabled people or any human being without their consent, it’s also wrong to experiment on animals.
As Mark Twain wrote:
“I am not interested to know whether Vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or doesn’t. To know that the results are profitable to the race would not remove my hostility to it. The pains which it inflicts upon unconsenting animals is the basis of my enmity towards it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further.”
Not everyone agrees. Orac, a pseudonym for someone who claims to be a surgeon/scientist, has a blog. In it, he says:
“One of the greatest threats to the preclinical research necessary for science-based medicine today is animal rights activism.”
He, like many pro-violence and anti-animal people, mischaracterizes the animal rights arguments against vivisection. He calls our non-violence, pro-peace, and pro-animal position a “threat.” He claims our arguments are these:
- Animal research doesn’t teach us anything of value or even misleads us (i.e., it is bad science).
- Animal research does not predict human physiology or response to disease, or animals are “just too different from humans to give reliable results” (i.e., it is bad science).
- There are better ways of getting the information that do not use animals (i.e., there is better science available than using animals.)
And then he sets off on rejecting those arguments. He tries, but he just can’t do a great job.
- He must concede, though he may not, that animal testing has led us down the wrong path in the past and will likely continue to produce misleading or wrong information that harms humans.
- He must concede, though he may not, that animal testing is not always reliable and that animal species have significant differences, none of which satisfactorily justify animal testing.
- He must concede, though he may not, that there are better, in the sense of good, not necessarily in the sense of productive, ways of getting information that do not use animals, some of which that are also more productive.
The thing is, those aren’t the essential criticisms of animal testing. The essential criticism, as stated above, is that vivisection is wrong.
For more information, please visit these websites:
- The Truth About Vivisection
- National Anti-Vivisection Society
- American Anti-Vivisection Society
- New England Anti-Vivisection Society
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Reminder, please read the discussion policy before leaving a comment here. For example, “No pro-meat, pro-dairy, pro-eggs, pro-hunting, or anti-animal discussion.” This is a safe space for vegans.
Thanks for the post. I completely agree. Even if animal tests do benefit humans (which they really don’t), I’d be against them.
As the band Vegan Reich said, “Animal experiments do not save human lies, and even if they did it wouldn’t make an ounce of difference cause we’ve no right to decide who’s to live and who’s to die.”
For scientific reading, check out the book Sacred Cows and Golden Geese. It is written by scientists who are now speaking out against animal testing and show how it has actually harmed humans. Very interesting book.
Billy’s last blog post..Ricochet Sugar-Free Mints
You’re against diaries?
(You’ll want to edit your last paragraph. Unless, of course, journaling actually does offend you.)
Thanks for catching the typo. It’s fixed now.
Your website is soo true and really helpful! I am doing a paper on how wrong animal testing is and your website helped me soooooo much! Thanks again!!!
Taylor
That’s great, Taylor!
I hope your paper turns out well. And I hope you get a good grade, too
it makes me so sad just thinking about animal testing its not right they did nothing wrong they just lved there lives like evryone else im doing a speech on how animal testing is wrong and this website gave me a lot ideas on wat i can say
thanx
Hi, I Agree. Animal Testing, is DISGUSTING.
I have been Vegan for almost 3 months now, and although I’m only young, I think it’s the best decision I’ve made so far in life. Animals DO NOT deserve to be treat like this as they have absolutely no say in it whatsoever. And what makes me more sick is that they actually breed animals for testing, etc. Do they not hurt enough animals? Apparantley not, I mean, obviously they just keep needing more and more, just for the fun of it.
They breed them to create deformities, disease, etc. And then they patent that, too, so they can make money off doing science (not just from the end result of science).
The whole system is sick. It’s all based on the premise that animal lives are completely expendable for any frivolous human whim.
I’m a fictional primate in a real American animal testing facility in Beijing, China, where I blog about my dreams and nightmares there at the blog “Sweatshop Monkey.”
The bad news for good humans opposed to fighting animal testing in the west is that the same companies are expanding their operations to places like China, where humans have no rights to protest against this kind of barbaric cruelty. Shamelessly, these companies brag about the lack of human rights here in their sales pitches to clients and investors.
This is a worldwide phenomenon that is growing rapidly (in terms of scale and investment), and we need some kind of new creative solutions to reverse this trend.
Humanity, when will you wake from your slumber?
Bless all of you eccentric vegans for anything you can do to stop the suffering of innocents!
Eccentric Vegan, for you to say, children, people of color, and disabled people displays utter ignorance. Your statement makes it seem as though people of color are of lesser value or something. You should have said “PEOPLE.” Not “people of color”
Veronica,
I understand your point and I understand that many people dislike comparisons between any group of non privileged humans to animals. I don’t share that perspective, but I can understand the critique.
My statement was
“Just like it’s wrong to experiment on children, people of color, disabled people or any human being without their consent, it’s also wrong to experiment on animals.”
which implies equality to ALL humans.
The reason for using the examples of children, POC, and people with disabilities is because historically they have been used for scientific tests just like animals are currently used. It was wrong then and it’s wrong now.