Is it reasonable to test drugs on animals if the cause is to help people suffering from incurable diseases?

Question

I saw an advert on TV showing a monkey in a cage. They asked whether it was right to test a drug on him. I said "No". Then they asked whether it was okay if it would help a man in a wheelchair recover from an incurable disease. It was a difficult one but I decided the answer was still no. What are your thoughts on this - is it right to swap one life for another? Do you believe that all animals are inferior to humans and that it is okay to carryout experiments on them?

Answer 1

very reasonable, for the benefit of humans

:> peace
.

Answer 2

This is a very difficult question. All animals have intelligence and can feel pain and experience emotions. Some of the testing is humane and some simply is not. If we stopped the testing on animals how would we find treatments or a cure for so many of the illnesses and diseases that affect the world. I am an animal lover and would say an easy answer is "NO" animals should not be used for testing. But then the question of "What happens then?" arises. Do we allow our population to succumb to illness and disease to protect animals? Animals are being cloned now, do we protect their rights as well? They have stem cell research do we say no to that also? It is a very vast question you asked for YA. I don't think many of us here are well enough equipped to give anything more than an emotional answer to this question. Which if that is the case then "NO", I don't "FEEL" animals should be used for testing.

What I think on the other hand, is how else do we protect our society and advance in the medical treatment for our race that is suffering from disease and sickness.

Answer 3

I worked at a large contract research laboratory for a while (I am a Registered Veterinary Technician). While it isn't necessarily fair that the animals have to go through that, we wouldn't have many, many life saving devices, medications, etc. that are used on humans every single day. It was definitely an emotionally draining job because not only did I assist in many of the surgical procedures, I also had to take care of these animals every single day.

I can say first hand that the materials, equipment, etc. that were "tested" will someday make a huge difference in the lives of many, many people. Part of my job was to also oversee the humane treatment of the animals. Unlike some pets, these animals ALWAYS received the best pain medications and always had food and water. They never had to worry about an owner not wanting to pay for the pain meds, missing a meal or being left out in extreme weather conditions, like many domesticated pets have to go through.

We worked on mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, pigs, goats, and sheep. As I said, it is an extremely emotionally draining job, but I also had the power to make sure that these animals were always treated well and appropriately. There is always a level of frustration dealing with an uncooperable or aggresssive patient, but even if someone were to curse out of anger at an animal, there would be a consequence.

I always had to be in a positive mindset no matter how difficult it was, and I will always have the utmost respect for these animals and consider them litttle "heroes".

However, I am strongly against cosmetic related testing. And, the prisioner idea is actually pretty good (rapists, murderers, etc.).

Answer 4

I guess it really depends on the type of testing, it's level of requirements and how important the results are to the human clinical study phase. Some questions that need to be answered are: "Can the test being conducted be done in vitro (test tube environment) or is it crucial to have a biological host similar to Humans which brings yet one more question is the animal host going to react the same as a human in the test results and finally one must weigh the benefits vs the risks as well as the urgency. I would be inclined to approve studies that look promising in the Aids fight and look much less approving in the routine use of animals for cosmetic or some benign conditions. Remember vaccines for what was once very fatal diseases such as Polio, diphtheria and smallpox may not have been possible without those studies and finally after that phase depending on results Human clinical trials begin some just as risky as the studies performed on non humans. I hope this helps or gives some food for thought

Answer 5

Yes, I think it is because there is no other alternative, since
more often than not, the animal has to be sacrificed after
the testing is over which would mean a death penalty for
the person who was subjected to the test. Most testing is
done on mice, which you (and others) poison when your
home is invaded, which answers your question. Concerning
monkeys, there possibly are as many humans who volunteer
for testing when the cause is specific and the person is at risk
owing to sickness. The human is aware of what is going on
and the monkey is not, which also makes the procedure
justifiable. Finally, do we really have any other choice? I
think not.

Answer 6

No. It is never ok to test on any creature (animal or person) that can not understand what they are getting into, and weigh the risks against the benifits.

With all the computer modeling available today, along with a better understanding of the human body, the idea of doing this is inhumane.

Yes drugs must be tested, but test on human volunteers. If there was a cancer drug developed, i bet there would be many people willing to risk what little remains of their life, if not to be cured themselves, then to provide valuable data that will eventually lead to saving many lives. Same goes with MS suffers, Burn Victims, and even elderly patients who may have developed hearing loss or feel the onset of dementia. At least these people can choose their fate.

Answer 7

A THOUSAND NOOOOOOOO's

What have they done to anyone? Why should animals be made to suffer? I will never understand why people think animals make the best subjects for experiments. They CANT tell you what a product is doing to them!! They cant say "yes its really stinging my eyes". They cant tell you how their insides feel or if a product gives them bellyache etc etc etc etc and i could go on.
They arent even treated or given ANY respect for what they have done. Their bodies once they are worn out and used up are just burned with no care or respect for them IT MAKES ME SICK! Ive seen images online and elsewhere of the things that they are put through and they are not nice!!

Personally I think if we wana find out hoe products work and how they REALLY make us feel Why dont we do these tests on "creatures" that CAN TELL US THEIR FEELINGS. When I say creatures i mean Murders, Rapists, Child Abuses, all the sick People out there that get given the life sentence. Why should they be allowed to continue to live a life of luxuary in prison when theyve done nothing in our society to help ANYONE! It is THOSE "creatures" that we should be testing on. Animals are treated as if they have no feelings, no personalities, no nothing. These people HAVE NO FEELINGS so use them. They should lose all their human rights the moment they break them.

Answer 8

I don't think it is right to test on animals!!! are they able to sign a consent form??? NO if big drug companies want to test drugs then use their own self. there are a lot of people that are in desperate need (cancer, other diseases) that are at the end that would jump at the chance to use a new experimental drug that may help. Or use the inmate population since they owe society for their crimes. I mean the lifers that escaped the death penalty let them earn their keep!

Answer 9

Since the animals differ in their metabolic rates and loads and loads of different ways, they have admitted some drugs that pass safe on the poor animals if of absolutely no use to us humans. So what the heck is the point - apart from maybe there are some humans out there that get a kick out of inflicting pain on animals.

Answer 10

I agree with you my answer would be no. Gorillas and chimpanzees are so closely related to us and some can even do sign language so I do not think they should be used for experiments. How do they stand up and say NO! However until you are faced with the choice 'my daughter/son dies or they test I don't know if you can be adamant. I would hope that I would still say No but I just don't know. I do not think that animals are inferior to humans. They only kill to survive. What do we do?

Answer 11

Penicillin is lethal to guinea pigs.
Aspirin is lethal to cats, it causes blood clots on their spinal cord.
You can give a dog aspirin but not paractetamol.
Diazepam tranquilises dogs but makes cats manically excited.
Horses react by going insane if you give them some tranquilisers suitable for people.
M99 is a safe tranquiliser for most animals but fatal to people.
Sweet almonds kill foxes.
A goat can eat enough prussic acid to kill a platoon of people.
Some types of avocado are poisonous to parrots and macaws.
We react differently.

Mice are the lab animal of choice.
With cancer, mice tend to get sarcomas, humans tend to get carcinomas. They are different types of cancer that require different treatment.

Drug testing on animals meant that thalidomide was approved for use in humans.
Recently a whole group of human volunteers died horribly in England - after the animal tests cleared the drug.
We need a better way of doing it.

And so much for building a better society as long as people think its ok to test on humans that you all hate.
Have you never heard of a miscarriage of justice?
Or the nazi's?