We Must Search for Alternatives to Animal Testing Essays -- Alternativ

Polio was once rampant all over the world and President Roosevelt, among many others , fought the war with this disease. Dr. Jonas Salk was the one who discovered a cure for this disease thanks to animal research but is animal research always beneficial? â€Å"Treat others as you would want to be treated,† is what the Golden Rule has taught us for many years. Should we not treat animals the same way we want to be treated in return? The topic of animals being used in medical research has been controversial for many years. One side of the argument says that using animals is the only way to safely test a product before it reaches the public, but others say alternatives should be pursued. Despite the medical discoveries animal testing has shown, alternative methods should be used whenever possible since some experiments have caused pain to animals and have been unsuccessful when the same products were used on humans. For hundreds of thousands of years animals have been used to further the knowledge in medical research and technology. The first recorded use of animals in experimentation was in 450 B.C.E. when Alcmaeon Croton severed the optic nerve of a dog and blindness resulted (Von Stein). Experiments continued as Greek and Roman civilization continued to develop. Around the fifth century during the Dark Ages and the Fall of Rome, animal experimentation began to disappear in Europe. It was during the Italian Renaissance when experimentation revived again with technological advances (Von Stein). Experimentation of this time was considered cruel and barbaric since anesthesia has not yet been created and animals were not given anything to ease the pain. Still since animals shared physiological and genetic characteristics wit... ... Jan. 2010. http://www.issues.abc-clio.com. Fano, Alix. â€Å"Chemical Testing on Animals Is Unreliable.† At Issue: Animal Experimentation. Ed. Cindy Mur. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. N. pag. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. http://find.galegroup.com/â€Å'ovrc/ Haugen, David M. â€Å"Product Testing on Animals Is Cruel and Unnecessary.† At Issue: Animal Experimentation. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2000. N. pag. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. Lawrence, Corey. â€Å"Animal Testing is Essential for Medical Research.† At Issue: Animal Experimentation. Ed. Cindy Mur. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2004. N. pag. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 5 Jan. 2010. Von Stein, Thomson. Chronological Outline of a History of Knowledge and Beliefs http://history-of-knowledge.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/1-23-11chron.161205822.pdf