What benefits have come from medical research using animals?
Research involving animals has helped identify the causes of high blood pressure and develop more effective drugs to control the problem. Other research has resulted in treatments for strokes and heart attacks that save thousands of lives and reduce recovery time.
Why should medicine be tested on animals?
The use of animals in research is essential for enabling researchers to develop new drugs and treatments. Animal models help ensure the effectiveness and safety of new treatments. Alternative methods of research do not simulate humans and whole body systems in the same way and are not as reliable.
How effective is animal testing?
Because animal tests are so unreliable, they make those human trials all the more risky. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has noted that 95 percent of all drugs that are shown to be safe and effective in animal tests fail in human trials because they don’t work or are dangerous.
Is animal testing effective?
Animal testing has never really worked. Animal tests proved penicillin deadly, strychnine safe and aspirin dangerous. In fact, 90 percent of medications approved for human use after animal testing later proved ineffective or harmful to humans in clinical trials.
What are some good facts about animal testing?
Over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned, and abused in US labs every year. 92% of experimental drugs that are safe and effective in animals fail in human clinical trials because they are too dangerous or don’t work.
Is animal testing justified?
Research that is of little value, poorly designed or conducted, and badly reported is a waste of animals’ lives, causing suffering that should have been entirely avoidable. Animal experiments like these are certainly neither necessary nor justified.
Why is animal testing an important issue?
There are several reasons why the use of animals is critical for biomedical research: Animals are biologically very similar to humans. In fact, mice share more than 98% DNA with us! Animals are susceptible to many of the same health problems as humans – cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc.
