Animal testing causes immense suffering for millions of animals each year. Experiments involve injecting animals with drugs, exposing them to radiation, removing organs, forcing inhalation of toxic gases, and inducing anxiety and depression. Most experiments provide no anesthesia, and over 70% do not reduce animal suffering. Common animals used are rats, mice, monkeys and rabbits, which experience stress, disease, and painful procedures without relief from harm. Animal testing is conducted by cosmetics and pharmaceutical companies to test products despite the cruelty involved.

1. Animal Testing/ Cruelty
Essay
Damian Rarog

2. Animal Testing is a scientific experiment which animals are forced to
take part in by humans. Animals are usually put through a lot of pain,
suffering and distress, the animals that have things tested upon them
either die from it or are killed at the end of the experiment.
Animal Testing includes:
• Injecting or force-feeding animals with things that could harm them or kill them
(Medication drugs to see the effects).
• Exposing animals to nuclear radiation.
• Removing animals’ organs or tissues to cause damage to see if the animals can
survive without them, this is usually done by surgery.
• Forcing animals to inhale toxic gases.
• Subjecting animals to frightening situations to create anxiety and depression.
• Applying cosmetics etc. to the animals to see if it does damage to them.

3. Animals Used:
Animals that are defined as ‘animals’ in Europe by the European
Legislation Governing Animal Experiments Regulations are only the
vertebrate animals. Vertebrate animals are; mammals, birds, fish,
amphibians and some invertebrates such as octopuses. In the USA
rats, mice, fish, amphibians and birds are not defined as animals
under the animal experiments regulations. This means that no
permission is needed in order to experiment on them and they are
not included in any statistics.

4. Animal Suffering:
Most of the animal experiments that happen in Europe are reported to cause
‘moderate’ or ‘severe suffering’ to the animals. Researchers who carried out a
research claim that in the UK in 2012, 62% of institutes that was allowed to carry
out animal experiments by the government caused animals moderate or server
suffering. The research also shown that over 70% of experiments carried out did
not provide animals with any anesthetic, which caused extreme suffering for the
animals. Animal testing usually take place in Laboratories, they are usually
sterile, indoor environments in which the animals are forced to live in cages.
They aren’t allowed to have freedom or control over their lives. Some animals
are even separated from the rest of the animals and are forced to be on their
own.
Source: https://www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/why-we-do-it/what-animal-testing
Some companies that use animal testing to test if their products are safe to use
are; Estee Lauder, Benefit, Lancôme, Avon, Mac, Almay, CoverGirl, Revlon,
Maybelline, TRESemme, Victoria’s Secret and Clinque.

5. Effects on Animals:
Each Year more than a 100 million animals such as rats, monkeys, mice,
rabbits etc. are killed in laboratories for biology lessons, medical training,
experiments, drug testing and cosmetics testing. Animals suffer from a lot
of stress during these testing’s and experiments; they often harm
themselves and other animals around them. The animals suffer and
develop diseases, poisoning, burning skin, and causing brain damage,
maiming, blinding and other painful procedures. The animals that are put
under all this harm are usually left to die and are not helped to ease their
suffering, they are locked away in cages and observed to see the effects
that the drugs have on them.
Source: http://www.neavs.org/research/harm-suffering