Animal experimentation Each year in the United States, an estimated 70 million animals are maimed, blinded, scalded, force-fed chemicals, genetically manipulated, and otherwise hurt and killed in the name of science, by private institutions, household product and cosmetics companies, government agencies, educational institutions, and scientific centers. Substances we use everyday, such as eye shadow, soap, furniture polish and oven cleaner, may be tested on rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, cats, and other animals. These tests are mainly used to test the degree of harmfulness of products and their ingredients. No antidoes are ever sought, so animal tests cannot be used to prevent or treat potential human injuries. These tests are not required by the law, and they are only done to protect companies from consumer lawsuits. Proven more reliable and less expensive than animal tests, alternatives also see more humane. Instead of using live rabbits for the Draize Eye test, corneas from eye banks or sophisticated computer models can be used to accurately test the irritancy level.
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Facts1. Over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned and abused in U.S. labs every year.
2. 92% of experimental drugs that are safe and effective in animals fail in human clinical trials because they are too dangerous or don’t work. 3. Labs that use mice, rats, birds, reptiles and amphibians are exempted from the minimal protections under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). 4. Up to 90% of animals used in U.S. labs are not counted in the official statistics of animals tested. 5. It’s mandatory for all products to be tested on animals in China. Meanwhile, the European Union issued a ban on the sale of new cosmetics that are tested on animals. 6. Even animals that are protected under the AWA can be abused and tortured. And the law doesn’t require the use of valid alternatives to animals, even if they are available. 7. According to the Humane Society, registration of a single pesticide requires more than 50 experiments and the use of as many as 12,000 animals. 8. Several cosmetic tests commonly performed on mice, rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs include: skin and eye irritation tests where chemicals are rubbed on shaved skin or dripped into the eyes without any pain relief. 9. In tests of potential carcinogens, subjects are given a substance every day for 2 years. Others tests involve killing pregnant animals and testing their fetuses. 10. The real life applications for some of the tested substances are as trivial as an “improved” laundry detergent, new eye shadow, or copycat drug to replace a profitable pharmaceutical whose patent expired. 11. “Alternative” tests achieve one or more of the “3 R’s:” replaces a procedure that uses animals with a procedure that doesn’t, reduces the number of animals used in a procedure, refines a procedure to alleviate or minimize potential animal pain. |