Animals are being used as subjects for tests to determine the safety of cosmetics and drugs on human beings. Though people often tend to agree on animal rights, it is not always the case, as there are many aspects involved in this very controversial topic. While there are people who accept the practice as necessary for medical advancements, there are also those who believe that animals should never be used in experiments, pointing out that there are other ways to assess these products without having to hurt anyone or anything. As the debate about implementing animals rights seems to go on forever with each side of the coin not getting to any real conclusion, it is important to look into valuable information, such as the pros and cons, about this subject matter to be able to make a good opinion ourselves.
List of Pros of Animal Rights
1. It saves animal lives.
When animals are tested for products, they can get hurt. Though some products might not hurt them directly, they might do so in terms of their social and natural aspects, making them suffer until throughout the course of their lives. This is being prevented with animal rights.
2. It prevents tests that might be unreliable to occur.
While it is true that some animal tests have helped us advance the medicinal field, there are also those that did not prove reliability in specific situations. As some animals are extreme different from people, some tests ended up being inconclusive with regards to human health and well-being. These tests should be avoided completely.
3. It saves more money from animal testing.
Animal testing requires special shelter, care and food, which make it very expensive, considering that they are still experiments. Also, conducting tests that tend to have long-term results will make them more costly. It is important to keep in mind that money is very important, and it will not be wasted with these rights.
List of Cons of Animal Rights
1. It furthers risks for humans to suffer from certain health conditions.
Taking into account that tests that went wrong did not harm a human but the animal instead, it can be safe to conclude that animal testing ultimately saves human lives. Furthermore, human exposure to risky chemicals and substances is reduced, and as such, diseases are prevented.
2. It does not allow safety tests.
With the huge amount of substances around us every day, it is possible that some of them might not be good for us. It is widely accepted that it would be unethical to conduct experiments on humans without proper consent, so animal tests are being conducted instead to allow us to understand how safe the things that we use on a daily basis are.
3. It passes on the opportunity to advance research.
Animal rights would prohibit testing products on animals that were seen to have aided in researching of new medicines and products, speeding up advancements in the medical field. For example, most drugs that are currently used to treat and prevent serious conditions were tested on animals before being used on people.
The implementation of animal rights seems to be an issue that will not be agreed upon any time soon, as proponents and opponents push incredibly passionate arguments to stand their grounds. Notwithstanding, we can make our own judgment ourselves by carefully examining its pros and cons.