“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, we would all be vegetarian.”
― Paul McCartney
The phrase “ignorance is bliss” rings true when it comes to understanding the testing involved to produce society’s cleaning products, medications, cosmetics, food/beverage ingredients, etc. Due mainly to the careful concealment of the industry, and therefore lack of public awareness, the rights of laboratory animals often go unconsidered. It is easy to ignore the immorality of using sentient creatures as resources when one is not exposed to the facts and the reality of such practice. Most blindly assume animal research is justified and necessary for scientific progress. However, not only is it unethical to inflict pain on somebody else for one’s own benefit, past experiments have consistently proved that animal testing is usually unreliable and misleading. Yet, millions of animals’ lives are still being wasted each year. The purpose of this website is to increase awareness by revealing some truths about animal experimentation, to hopefully offset the general public’s widespread indifference in order to spare millions of innocent lives.
90% of Products that Pass in Animal Tests Fail in Human Tests
FACT: Results of animal testing cannot be applied to human beings with any degree of confidence. Because of the obvious biological differences between species, it is not too surprising that nine out of ten drugs that appear promising in animal studies go on to fail in human clinical trials. What is surprising is why researchers continue to use such cruel, flawed techniques.
Source: American Anti-Vivisection Society
According to studies published by Animal Aid, the total number of animal experiments in 2008 was a shocking 3.7 million, representing a 14% increase since 2007. These experiments almost always result in death as an endpoint, either due to the procedure or euthanasia. Even more shocking is the indifference of the researchers reflected by the ratio of animals bred and killed as surplus. These statistics are outrageous and must be significantly reduced.
Source: Animal Aid. “Animal Experimentation: Bad Ethics Bad Science.” (2010): 1-24. Web.
The only federal law protecting lab animals excludes 90% of them.
The Animal Welfare Act of 1966, the only federal law regulating animal research, excludes birds, rats, mice, farm animals, and all cold-blooded animals. Because they are capable of feeling pain and distress, along with a wide range of other emotions, animals should be recognized as living beings. However, this is not currently the case. Hope Ferdowsian's article "Human and Animal Research Guidelines: Aligning Ethical Constructs with New Scientific Developments" explains that animals are commonly disregarded as living beings and instead viewed as material resources. Although existent regulations provide scientists with regulatory guidance, they are not up-to-date with the latest discoveries regarding animal emotion and cognition, making them vague and inconsistent.