Millions of Animals Die in Labs Each Year
By: Aysia C.
Tags: Animal Rights, Animals, Pets, Creative, Science

Perspective Piece

Millions of Animals Die in Labs Each Year

Photo by Lorna Ladril on Unsplash

It’s no secret that animals are used as test subjects in labs. But, just how far is the reach of animal testing? And is it necessary? Can the number of deaths be reduced?

Over 100 million animals face cruelty and die in labs each year. They are mutilated, poisoned, and slaughtered by the crate load in experiments, most of which require multiple trials.

If the death toll alone isn’t enough to make you concerned about animal testing, here is a list of other reasons why you should be.

Here are six reasons why you should be concerned about the continued practice of animal testing.

It’s not just rodents.

The harsh truth is that many people like to think of the rodent as a throwaway type of animal, the kind that can be tested on. And those who conduct the tests can be absolved from guilt. They are seen as pests and are, therefore, suitable for experiments. While I disagree with this sentiment, allow me to appeal to those with this mindset.

Though rodents (primarily rats and mice) make up the majority of the animals used as test subjects, they are not the type of animal used. Cats, dogs, and reptiles are victims of the cruelty as well.

Yes, our beloved household pets!

Picture a Beagle lapping up some water after a long walk. Cute right?

Now picture one in a lab being forced to drink pesticide. Not so cute right?

The term “lab rat” is thrown around loosely when such subjects as lab work and experimentation are brought up, further pushing the false idea or assumption that it’s just rats that are being tested on.

Among the animals experimented upon are primates, dogs, cats, guinea pigs, horses, reptiles, pigs, and more.

Not all the tests are used for scientific breakthroughs.

Some of them are used to test cosmetics, like makeup, perfumes, nail polish, etc. After being used to assess such seemingly trivial products, the animals are almost always killed.

You’d be surprised at how many companies and brands use or fund the use of this method.

The results are often unreliable.

Ninety-two percent of experimental drugs that pass the animal tests fail in human clinical trials. Why?

There are substances that do not have major effects on certain animals but can be detrimental to humans and vice versa.

A very basic example of this is chocolate. Most humans can consume chocolate without having any problems, but for dogs and some species of cats, chocolate can be poisonous, even deadly.

The same can be said about diseases and illnesses. Some are even specific to certain animals. For example, Bovine Babesiosis is a huge threat to cattle, but the chances of an everyday person catching it and being affected by it are slim to none. It’s so small of a threat to humans that it’s nowhere near being a concern in the public human health consciousness.

The short answer to why the results are often so unreliable is simply that we’re different. Our makeup is different. Expecting the results to be the same for both humans and animals is taking a gamble — a gamble that is currently costing millions of lives.

There are cruelty-free alternatives.

There are multiple alternatives to animal testing such as:

Using computerized human biology simulations and conducting virtual drug trials

Using model organs that mimic actual organs

Microdosing, which is when humans are given low quantities of a drug to test its effects on the cells

It is important that we hold the companies, universities, researchers, etc. who have the ability to use these methods accountable for not doing so.

It places a price on life and a cheap one at that.

Even if a product happens to be harmful to an animal, it can still be marketed. So is there really a point in doing the experiments at all? Are they just done so that companies can check off the box saying they did them? Life, here, is literally just being thrown away.

We must think about how much we value life. Do animals need to be massacred and mutilated for our eyeshadow palettes and fancily scented soaps?

The animals are suffering. They are in pain.

Many people brush off the issue of animal cruelty because they figure that they are just animals. Well, those animals can feel, and they can suffer.

Animals are living and breathing creatures with blood, nervous systems, and organs. They do feel pain when chemicals are being dripped into their eyes, and they do feel it when they are being chemically burned and dragged out of their cells.

Pain is undeniably what the animals endure throughout the experiments. And they rarely receive any relief before their deaths.

How can we fix this?

Minimizing your contribution to companies that use or fund animal testing is an easy way to protest animal testing in your everyday life. Another way to help is to be vocal about the issue and tell others around you about the cruelty of animal testing. Receiving vocal concerns from the masses and losses of profits could push these companies to rethink and change their cruel methods for testing their products.