The Animals

Animals are no doubt valuable to medicine. They help humans understand other humans and solve mysteries for many scientific research. For instance, rats and mice are used to test certain drugs before they are put on the shelves of drug stores.  The concept of using animals for research helps us to advance scientific understanding, to develop treatment for diseases, and to protect the safety of humans.  Animals are great scientific models for humans since the animals share hundreds of illnesses.  In fact, rabbits suffer from atherosclerosis, emphysema, and birth defects such as spina bifida.  Dogs gets cancer, diabetes, cataracts, ulcers, and bleeding disorders such as haemophilia.  Cats experience visual impairments as humans.  Knowing how drugs react to the diseases in the animals helps us to understand how the human body will respond to the drugs.

However, one may ask to what extent is the use of animals in scientific research acceptable. Though animals provide extensive knowledge about disease, many pet advocates argue that the use of animals for scientific research is equivalent to cruelty. If the animals did not do anything to us then why are we putting them in pain? We can always use other living things to do the research right?.  Like all controversial  and debatable arguments, we need to look at the negatives and positives and analyze the logic behind both sides.  I believe the use of animals for scientific research should be tolerated, however, if the use of extinct animals should not be permitted at any level of research. We need to preserve every trace of the earth and extinct animals fall under this category; we need to protect them and their lineage. We have no other alternatives to learn so the best way is to sacrifice something. Of course, we will not go all out and take in any animal and study it. There has to be a plan and a good reason on why the animals are being used.  We have no other alternatives besides animals. Sometimes, we have to sacrifice something in order to gain.