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Combating the Experimentation of Cosmetics on Animals

Mar
26

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Dr. Festing Versus the Fight for Animal Rights

Category: Uncategorized 2 Comments

WARNING: This blog post is extremely long, and I apologize in advance. This topic really means a lot to me and once I start writing I find it hard to stop.

Imagine that a fatal reaction to a new brand of hairspray is sweeping the nation at a rate that is faster than it can be contained. The inhalation of the hairspray produces a cough that is highly contagious and easily spreads the chemicals through the air. Many scientists are frazzled as to what chemicals in the hairspray are causing this reaction and are desperate for answers. As the head of a researching team for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, you are assigned the task of finding a cure and halting the dissemination of the epidemic. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and you must choose carefully as to how you are going solve the problem.
At first, you think testing on uninfected humans would be the best approach, but then you realize that testing animals would be a better option since they share many similarities with humans and will prevent the need for human experimentation. While many people feel that animal testing is wrong, you believe that it is beneficial for scientific purposes. In “Why do we use animals in research?”, ex-Chief Executive, Dr. Simon Festing, explains the exact same reasoning behind why the benefits of animal testing outweigh the drawbacks. Dr. Festing believes in the usage of animal testing because he feels it is necessary to save human lives and prevent people from suffering and the animals being tested on are minimally harmed.
Dr. Festing believes animal testing is necessary because the research gained from it is used to save human lives and prevent people from suffering. While cell and tissue cultures or computer modeling can be used for scientific research, Dr. Festing explains that in some cases, animals must be used because “you can’t get a beating heart in a test tube or get a computer to cough”. Since many of the biological systems between humans and animals work in the same way, it is easy to draw comparisons between species that can lead to scientific advancements.
Quickly changing the subject, the interviewer decides to inquire Dr. Festing about the cruelty of animal testing. Dr. Festing states that “it would be wrong to gloss over the fact that animals do suffer in research for the benefit of people, but most of this discomfort is mild and it’s similar to when you take your pet to the vet. It may involve sampling of blood or minor operations”. He also believes that researchers are so secretive about animal testing because of animal extremists who tend to exaggerate and distort the evidence.
I must say that Dr. Festing does a good job at explaining the advantages of animal testing through the use of factual evidence and previous experience. As a doctor that has obviously worked in an area that has used animal testing, his knowledge on the subject appears credible. After watching the video multiple times, I was able to see some benefits to animal testing. I do agree that animal testing is necessary at times for scientific and biomedical research because it allows medications to be tested before being sold on the market to humans and some experiments require actual test subjects that can be monitored. Because of animal testing, new medicines and treatments are gained that can improve the well-being of humans (and even animals in some cases). Although Dr. Festing made some very good points in his argument for supporting animal testing, there was a very specific point that he made in his interview that was questionable.
In the video, Dr. Festing made a contentious comment that left me shaking my head in disagreement. At a certain point in the video, Dr. Festing states that “animals do suffer in research for the benefit of people, most of this discomfort is mild and it’s similar to when you take your pet to the vet. It may involve sampling of blood or minor operations”. I do not agree nor do I believe in this statement whatsoever because I would like to know how Dr. Festing “knows” how “mild” the discomfort is for animals and what it could be compared to. He is not an animal and I’m positive that he was never tested on before. Also, many animals are terrified of going to the vet and cannot fully relax until they leave. So, imagine being in a state of constant fear and stress for your whole life. I believe that Dr. Festing is trying to sugar coat the issue by making experimentation on animals seem almost harmless, which ultimately leads me to disagree with his statement.
This video has given me a new outlook on the advantages and disadvantages on animal testing. I have always only seen the negative views of animal testing, but this video opens up another door for me. I was able to see why some people, especially researchers and scientists, need to use animals for experimentation. The negative aspects of animal testing focus on what is morally acceptable while the positive aspects focus on what is needed for scientific purposes. A question that I would like to explore later down the line to assist in my research would be: What kinds of experiments are used and how detrimental are they to animals? I would like to use this question because I want to see if researchers, such as Dr. Festing, are lying to cover up animal testing or if activists are overreacting about the issue.

Mar
11

By

“Bruiser’s Bill”: The Fight Against Animal Testing in the Cosmetic Industry

Category: Uncategorized Tags: , 14 Comments

Right now, as I type this post, millions of animals are cramped inside cold, dark cages in laboratories across the nation. Many of them cry out in pain after a long day of torture and abuse, while some sit quietly in fear, awaiting the same fate as their neighbors when the sun rises. None of them will ever understand why they were placed in such an unfortunate position, but all of them will wonder if they will ever see freedom. As an avid animal lover and proud dog owner, I find it extremely hard to understand how or why scientists could use animals (that most of us would call family) as test subjects for a new cosmetic item. Many of these scientists and laboratories use unethical and inhumane treatments/procedures on the animals that can eventually lead to their death. According to the Humane Society, the most common animal procedures include:

  • Forced chemical exposure in toxicity testing, which can include oral force-feeding, forced inhalation, skin or injection into the abdomen, muscle, etc.
  • Exposure to drugs, chemicals or infectious disease at levels that cause illness, pain and distress, or death
  • Genetic manipulation, e.g., addition or “knocking out” of one or more genes
  • Ear-notching and tail-clipping for identification
  • Short periods of physical restraint for observation or examination
  • Prolonged periods of physical restraint
  • Food and water deprivation
  • Surgical procedures followed by recovery
  • Infliction of wounds, burns and other injuries to study healing
  • Infliction of pain to study its physiology and treatment
  • Behavioral experiments designed to cause distress, e.g., electric shock or forced swimming
  • Other manipulations to create “animal models” of human diseases ranging from cancer to stroke to depression
  • Killing by carbon dioxide asphyxiation, neck-breaking, decapitation, or other means

(http://www.hsi.org/campaigns/end_animal_testing/qa/about.html)

I have not always felt so strongly against the use of cosmetic testing on animals. In fact, I wasn’t truly aware of the inhumane experimentation until a few years ago when I watched a silly, little movie called Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. Although this may seem comical, Legally Blonde 2 was the main reason why I became so protective against animals and their rights. In the movie, Harvard Law graduate, Elle Woods, travels to Washington D.C. to pass a bill (Bruiser’s Bill) to put an end to animal testing after she finds out that her dog’s mother is used for testing at a cosmetic company that is represented by her law firm. I didn’t think that the animal testing in the cosmetic industry was a huge issue at first, but after I watched this movie, I became more aware of the truth and lies behind animal testing.

 

Fortunately, I am not the only person against animal testing in the cosmetic industry. In a survey that spanned from 2001 to 2013, researchers asked 1,000 US adults every year if they found animal testing morally acceptable or wrong. According to the survey, there was a 23% rise compared to what people thought in 2001. The survey data also showed that the majority of women and young adults under the age of thirty felt that animal testing was morally wrong. In the link listed below, Mirror News goes into more depth about the survey and how opposition to the practice is rising every year.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/science/animal-testing-number-people-opposed-3153184

 

After all of this talk about opposing animal testing, you may be thinking if there are any benefits or positive to this issue. According to ProCon.org, “Some cosmetics and health care products must be tested on animals to ensure their safety. American women use an average of 12 personal care products per day, so product safety is of great importance. [41] The US Food and Drug Administration endorses the use of animal tests on cosmetics to “assure the safety of a product or ingredient.” [42] China requires that all cosmetics be tested on animals before they go on sale, so cosmetics companies must have their products tested on animals if they want distribution in China. [43] Mosquito repellent, which helps protect people from malaria and other dangerous illnesses, must undergo toxicological testing (which involves animal testing) in order to be sold in the United States and Europe. [44]”. From this statement, it can be deduced that animal testing for the use of cosmetics is imperative to ensure the safety of humans.

(http://animal-testing.procon.org/)

Mar
10

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Hello world!

Category: Uncategorized 1 Comment

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