Treated like animals
Vivisection, the practice of performing operations on live animals for the purpose of experimentation or scientific research, has been going on since the 17th century. The Animal Welfare Act was passed in 1966 establishing this act as a cruel, unnecessary and inhumane thing to do. Much like the old practice of experimental procedures on mental patients, vivisection was ruled as cruel and unusual. An example of this mistreatment, the 1981 Silver Spring monkeys which were stuck in tiny wire cages coated with feces and urine, and experimented on. Some of the monkeys experienced such heavy nerve damage that some of their limbs were rendered useless.
Different cultures and religions have different viewpoints on how animals should be used. A verse in the Bible says, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (Genesis 1:26), meaning that humans rule over animals.
Whether your religion is Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, or whatever you believe in (if you believe in something), we got our voice from somewhere. We have the ability to speak, as animals do not. Animals do not have the option to say no, or have a voice like humans do. As humans, we should realize this and take it into consideration when forcing animals to do things. Over 100 million animals die every year due to this, 274,000 per day or 3 per second.
There are several options for testing that doesn't involve starving, poisoning, isolating, burning, and killing animals. Human tissue, computer models, cell cultures and volunteers are a faster, safer, cheaper and more efficient way to have testing done. Human tissue, healthy or unhealthy, can be used to study human biology and to test skin irritation for makeup or other products. The data from human tissue is much better because it is relative to human beings, yet if you test on rabbits or mice, they are a whole other species. Tissue is highly available because you can use many different parts of the body. Tissue from cosmetic surgery, biopsies, and many other procedures. Human tissue is also more accurate.
Although vivisection has helped with finding cures to many diseases, other methods would be faster and more efficient. Other benefits of animal testing or vivisection include the expanded lifespan of humans, and the advancement of medication and medical treatment, however the risks far outweigh these benefits. Imagine a different reality where animals ruled and humans were treated cruelly. Animals do feel pain and emotion. They experience trauma, and have memories. It is for these reasons that animal testing or vivisection needs to be stopped.
