Journal 10

http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1996080200&type=hitlist&num=2

This article was found on CQ researcher on the PSU libraries website. It discusses the negatives of animal research, and I plan to target those negatives with an opposing view that I could include in my paper. The thesis of this article was to discuss all of the wrongs of animal testing and show why the movement for it has grown over the past few decades. The author begins by introducing what goes on in an animal testing environment. They talk about what the animals have to go through, and even the habitats they are put into. The article begins in a positive manner on how the animals are being treated, but then goes into all the cruel things that occur in the world. One thing that struck me was that many animals develop illness' where they begin to scratch at themselves until they bleed. This is probably a side effect of the drugs that are tested upon them. After discussing the problems that occur with those animals in the laboratory, they speak about all the other animals that die yearly. The author changes from a minor effect on the animals to a major one: death. Although this testing helps greatly in furthering our knowledge of medicines, there are many risks that accompany it. Humans continue to do this because they are not the ones put in harms way. The animals are suffering and dying because some of their bodies just cannot handle the tests. Another issue targeted in this article is the fact that animals have rights as well. They should be allowed the right to live free and fulfill their "personal behavioral prerogatives" in life. Once all the problems with it are discussed, the author begins to show that there are alternatives out there. Animal testing does not have to be done, but it is just the most efficient thing we have currently. There are many other possibilities such as cell cultures and computer models to produces results for scientists. This was a great essay especially because it made me think twice about the opinion I chose for this essay. I began to reconsider whether I wanted to be pro or against animal testing after reading all the points of this essay. Either I am going to switch my stance on this topic, or I will use the information present in this article and show why it is not important. The topics that the author targeted can be counter-targeted with more valid points. Some information that I actually would like to cite from this article is the positives that were said about animal testing. They discussed how the animals were treated well, they have a better chance of avoiding disease in laboratory environments, and they are safe from predators.
"And although their individual cages are small - roughly two feet wide by three feet high and deep - the macaques all have poles and rubber swings to simulate their arboreal life in the jungle"

Source:
Masci, D. (1996, August 2). Fighting over animal rights. CQ Researcher, 6, 673-696. Retrieved November 4, 2010, from CQ Researcher Online, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1996080200.