Animal Medical Research

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Medical research involving the use of animals has significantly enhanced the well-being of mankind and animals. Without animal testing, the cure for many fatal diseases would not exist and many would suffer and die from their disease. Despite these benefits, many people and animal rights groups argue that the use of animals for research should be banned. The fact is experiments using animals have played a fundamental role in the development of modern medical treatments. The evolving research using animals will continue to be essential as researchers seek out treatment for existing illness, and react to the emergence of new diseases. It allows medical scientists to test and produce new drugs, and other products for humans and animals’ safe use. The procedures learned through research have an invaluable role in educating students and professionals alike in aiding their training for treatment of humans and animals.

Most mammals have similar physical processes close to humans that allow scientists to check the effects of new drugs before available to humans. Without the progressive discoveries made through animal testing there would be no major procedures like open-heart surgery (many of which came from studies with pigs), and no cures for such diseases as diphtheria, tuberculosis, measles, mumps, rabies, tetanus, and numerous other infectious diseases. What is known about the human immune system derived from the studies with mice and the cardiovascular system from studies with dogs. The fact is animals make excellent research subjects for a variety of purposes and the results tell us a great deal about human health and physiology. The high level of controlled environment that animal testing presents make them better test subjects than

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humans in many regards. For example, researchers are allowed to control certain aspects on an animal’s diet and temperature more simply than would be probable with humans. Many species of animals can be studied during their total life span because of relatively short life cycles, producing a wealth of valuable insight for the medical arena. The findings are considered necessary for all animals and using them for testing instead of humans is more practicable for economic, timely, and well, humane reasons. The research on animals has, without a doubt, been vital to saving countless human lives (Fox 44-57).

Animal research has played a vital role in health and treatment for other animals, as well as humans. The advances in veterinarian medicine have developed because of that crucial role. So, not all animal testing are done only for the sake of humans. Some of the research is even aimed at developing alternatives to animal use so that fewer animals will be needed in the future. Often, pet owners look for alternatives, including new treatments for their ailing pet, and participate in clinical trials similar to human studies that test the effectiveness of new drugs or treatment. These different research