Give and Take

Where do you stand on the mistreatment of animals? Are you completely against hurting animals, so much so that you would never eat meat or use them for research to cure deadly human diseases? Animals are not objects that hold no rational thoughts. They are living beings, but when you look at the big picture, no one is willing to give up eating meat or risk loosing their child in place of an animal because animal research was outlawed.

Since the beginning of man, it was thought that animals had no intelligence what so ever, therefore we have no responsibilities towards them. Ancient day Philosophers believed that animals are unconscious biological organisms, which operate, by brute instinct, and only appear to be capable of experiencing pain. Modern philosophers and scientists believe differently. They believe nearly all the external signs lead us to believe that pain in humans can be seen in other species, especially the species most closely related to us, mammals and birds. The behavioral signs include writhing, facial contortions, moaning, yelping or other forms of calling, attempts to avoid the source of the pain, appearance of fear at the prospect of its repetition.

If you look at the world today, many people eat meat for lunch daily. Husbands buy wives fur coats almost everyday. Men go hunting for dear to show their muscularity. Killing animals has become a part society today. Imagine having no leather seats to sit on in your car, or your children dying from smallpox. Can we really go on living without the slaughter helpless beings?

With the help of animal research today, smallpox has been wiped out worldwide. Microsurgery to reattach hearts, lungs, and other transplants are all possible because of animal research. Since the turn of the century, animal research has helped increase our life span by nearly 28 years. And now, animal research is leading to dramatic progress against AIDS and Alzheimer s disease. Working with animals in research is necessary. Scientists need to test medical treatments for effectiveness and test new drugs for safety before beginning human testing. Small animals, usually rats, are used to determine the possible side effects of new drugs.

After animal tests have proven the safety of new drugs, patients asked to participate in further studies can be assured that they may fare better, and will not do worse than if they were given standard treatment or no treatment. New surgical techniques first must be carefully developed and tested in living, breathing, whole organ systems with pulmonary and circulatory systems much like ours. The doctors who perform today s delicate cardiac, ear, eye, pulmonary and brain surgeries, as well as doctors in training must develop the necessary skills before patients lives are entrusted to their care. Neither computer models, cell cultures, nor artificial substances can simulate flesh, muscle, blood, and organs like the ones in live animals. There is no alternative to animal research.

There is a lot of people today that are against animal research but do these people want to give up eating meat or wearing fur coats? It s a give and take situation, do you want your child to take vaccines developed from animal research to save their life? Animal research is always going to exist, don t waist your time fighting it, but put for effort into something else that s going to benefit animals in need.