Why Are Animals Used in Research?

Human beings use animals for a wide variety of purposes, including research. The approximately 260
million people in the United States keep about 110 million dogs and cats as pets. More than 5 billion
animals are killed in the United States each year as a source of food. Animals are used for
transportation, for sport, for recreation, and for companionship.7

Animals are also used to learn more about living things and about the illnesses that afflict human
beings and other animals. By studying animals, it is possible to obtain information that cannot be
learned in any other way. When a new drug or surgical technique is developed, society deems it
unethical to use that drug or technique first in human beings because of the possibility that it would
cause harm rather than good. Instead, the drug or technique is tested in animals to make sure that it
is safe and effective.

Animals also offer experimental models that would be impossible to replicate using human subjects.
Animals can be fed identical and closely monitored diets. As with inbred mice, members of some
animal species are genetically identical, enabling researchers to compare different procedures on
identical animals. Some animals have biological similarities to humans that make them particularly
good models for specific diseases, such as rabbits for atherosclerosis or monkeys for polio. (The polio
vaccine was developed, and its safety is still tested, in monkeys.) Animals are also indispensable to
the rapidly growing field of biotechnology, where they are used to develop, test, and make new
products such as monoclonal antibodies.

Researchers draw upon the full range of living things to study life, from bacteria to human beings.8
Many basic biological processes are best studied in single cells, tissue cultures, or plants, because
they are the easiest to grow or examine. But researchers also investigate a wide range of animal
species, from insects and nematodes to dogs, cats, and monkeys. In particular, mammals are
essential to researchers because they are the closest to us in evolutionary terms. For example, many
diseases that affect human beings also affect other mammals, but they do not occur in insects,
plants, or bacteria.

Far fewer animals are used in research than are used for other purposes. An estimated 17 to 22
million vertebrate animals are used each year in research, education, and testing—less than 1
percent of the number killed for food.9 About 85 percent of these animals are rats and mice that
have been bred for research. In fiscal year 1988, about 142,000 dogs and 52,000 cats were used in
experimentation, with 40,000 to 50,000 of those dogs being bred specifically for research and the
others being acquired from pounds.10 Between 50,000 and 60,000 nonhuman primates, such as
monkeys and chimpanzees, are studied each year, many of them coming from breeding colonies in
the United States.11
The author of ‘why are animal used in research’ try to deal with the issue of is it proper to uses
animal in research. His introduce reader with a hard statement that infectious disease cannot be
cured without having animal research and it is contributing to better nutrition and sanitation. When
some medical technique or medicine is developing animal should be used rather than human in
ethical aspect. Other than that, the animal can offer experimental model such as fed identical and
closely monitored diets that mostly impossible if using human subjects. Beside the advantage using
animals in research there are some limitation which only mammal is essential for research due to its
close to human in evolutionary terms. Another issue arises is the percentage animal die in a research
lab is lower than another factor and the pain that animal will experience in the research procedure.

Most in the article the author’s position is biased to approving and supporting the issue to uses
animal in research. The author claim that animal research has even contributed to better nutrition
and sanitation. Besides that it is possible to obtain information that cannot be learned in any other
way. He also claims that increase in the field of biotechnology with a low number of animal abuse,
including deaths, breed, pain and discomfort. Although some of the animals may experience acute
or prolonged pain during research but most of the institutional committees, including the author
consider the animal pain just a small problem compared to the solution they need for human beings.
Finally, he take into account that if the uses of animal in research is band of law, there only little
hope to overcome human suffering.

There are few types of supporting detail that the author uses in bringing the issue. Most of the
author claim are more from its opinion and point of view. In paragraph one he stated that animal
research makes people healthier and even contributed to better nutrient and sanitation. He also
claims that without animal research there is almost possible to obtain some information in
paragraph 2 and in the last paragraph he once again claim that without animal research there are
little hope to eliminate the widespread of human infection reflect his personal opinion. Beside that
he also takes in some opinion from the expert on the last paragraph where they believe that animal
discomfort and pain experience is a small problem compared to the statistical amount of human
suffering. Other than that author use case studied in paragraph two, some example in paragraph
two and three, statistical data at paragraph five and seven, and research finding in paragraph six to
support his claim.

In this article the author fulfills the aspect of relevance, objectivity, completeness, credibility and
validity. The support is directly related to the argument for example only animal can be fed
identically and closely monitored diet and on the other hand it still has some biological similarities to
human so its related to the argument impossible by using human subject in the experimental model.
Most of the support consists fact and clear evidence such as data from the 1998 Animal Welfare
Enforcement Report by Department of Agriculture prove that the author's argument has objectivity.
Animal research is essential in alleviating this widespread human suffering compare that they abuse
in animal show the argument is complete. Low percentage of animal abuse in laboratory, low
number of dead involve a lab animal, better nutrition and sanitation in animal research and social
confrontation in using human subject to show the argument has validity and credibility.
Based on the article, there will be a lot more goodness and cures that can be developed in the
future. There will be sometime a helpful cure may be found from this method. Even though there
look like cruel to use an animal as a subject, but it should be continuous because in future it may be
helpful and save a lot of human life.

The tone that's been used by the author was supportive tone. ”As much as it benefits the human,
animal used in research takes its toll on the condition of the animal itself. The author was being
optimistic. The author's belief that most of the animals only experience minimal pain while being
experimented. The author also stated that the usage of animal has been producing lots progressive.
They're also a gentle touch by the author when being considerate about the American that suffer
from chronic pain.

From the article, the author's purpose was to inform about the animal used in the experiment. From
the research on the animal. The facts is polio vaccine was developed from it. Author is also informing
the reader, that no animal was abused while being used as experimental. According to the 1998
Animal Welfare Enforcement Report by Department of Agriculture, about 94 percent of all animals
reported are not exposed to painful procedures or given drugs to relieve any pain caused by a
procedure.

Finally, the intended group that the author wan tackle was general public. Since the author would
like to share the knowledge and the word used aren’t highly scientific so it’s easy for the reader to
digest it. Another clue was the resource of the article. The article was published publicly on the
internet for all.

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