where do you stand on the animal testing debate?

Question: where do you stand on the animal testing debate?

Asked by dumhead456 to Hermine, Katy, Laura, Nathalie, Paula on 22 Jun 2010 in Categories: General.
- Paula Salgado answered on 21 Jun 2010:
  
  Hi Dumhead456
  
  I think that unfortunately, I certain degree of animal testing is needed. A lot of research can and is done in other organisms and cell line models and in computer simulations, but since we can’t experiment in humans, some things still need to be done in animals first…
  
  But not all animal research is justified – cosmetics testing for example should be completely banned in my opinion! And the test we do have to carry out, should obviously be done under strict regulations and control to ensure that the animals are treated as humanely as possible.
  
  What do you think?
- Nathalie Pettorelli answered on 21 Jun 2010:
  
  Hi dumhead456 (why did you choose a nickname like this one???),
  
  I’m not in favour of animal testing unless it’s proven to be deemed necessary and useful – luckily, there are a large amount of regulations in place now to prevent abuse
- Katy Mee answered on 21 Jun 2010:
  
  Hi dumhead456!
  
  I’ve already had a question similar to this but not sure if the others answered it so I’d be interested to read what they have to say on the subject – especially Laura as her work aims to reduce animal suffering.
  
  Personally I don’t agree with testing on animals for anything that isn’t necessary for our health e.g. cosmetics.
  
  However, what i said when i answered this questions before was that for a start I’m not an expert on animal testing so i wouldn’t know the full extent to which animals are tested on these days, but I would be foolish to think that I, or someone I love, has not had any medical treatment that has been tested on animals. Maybe Laura would know more about the extent to which animal testing still exists for drugs?
  
  I certainly don’t like the idea of testing on animals and would hope that drug companies, for example, are working towards alternative ways of testsing medicines, but that’s not going to happen overnight so should we just stop developing medicines? It’s an uncomfortable subject and i love all animals but I would be a hypocrite if i was to say I never use products tested on animals becuase i’m pretty sure that’s not true, sadly.
  
  What are your thoughts?
- Laura Dixon answered on 21 Jun 2010:
  
  Testing on animals has produced some very important, lifesaving medicines and technologies. There need to be limits on what is done to the animals and the amount of pain they go through before being euthanized. Alot of animal research use the ‘3R’s’ to minimize animal use and maximze animal welfare while still doing good science. These are reduction of the number of animals used, refinement to use the least invasive techniques and replacement – using non animal models whenever possible. If these things are all done then I think animal testing is acceptable. I do not agree with testing cosmetics on animals as the outcome (new makeup) does not justify the suffering of the animals.
  Great question 🙂
- Hermine Schnetler answered on 22 Jun 2010:
  
  I am rather neutral on it. If there is no other way to test medicine to cure serious illnesses then I think we should use animals to test it first. Animal testing for cosmetic purposes is totally a different matter and as such I don’t think it should be allowed. Having said all that I do not agree with the animal rights activists. They are like terrorist and I do condem their violent behaviour.

Comments

Laura commented on 21 Jun 2010:

Katy – Drug companies start by testing in vitro but before federal approval they do have to undergo animal testing. Most reputable companies have Animal Ethics committees that weigh up the pros of the drugs against the cons of the animal suffering and help to reduce animal numbers used.

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Question: where do you stand on the animal testing debate?