"Well, what about animal rights? Animals have feelings, too. Animal experimentation should not be allowed."
These are some of the thoughts that many people may have about this whole idea of experimenting on mice and using them towards the research of neurodegenerative diseases. I know questions will rise and many of you may be concerned more about the animals themselves than the contributions they can make.
Of course, these questions should be addressed and answered instead of ignored.
These are some of the thoughts that many people may have about this whole idea of experimenting on mice and using them towards the research of neurodegenerative diseases. I know questions will rise and many of you may be concerned more about the animals themselves than the contributions they can make.
Of course, these questions should be addressed and answered instead of ignored.
We can all agree that it is truly unethical to experiment on animals and give them a feature for aesthetic reasons. For instance, the glow-in-the-dark cat is simply generated as novelty trade pets; inserting glow-in-the-dark genes in a cat is unnecessary. Treating animals as if they were entertainment is unethical. Many people consider their cats as their most prized pets and have a large place in their hearts. For these reasons, it is wrong to experiment on animals for amusement.
However, there are certain circumstances where animal experimentation is very beneficial. For example, transgenic mice in the research of neurodegenerative diseases. These animals have contributed so much in research and allowed researchers to learn so much more about these diseases. Without these mice, researchers would not be as close as they are to finding cures. I'm not saying that it's okay to use animals to save human lives, nor am I saying animals should not be used at all for research and studies. There is constant debate about these perspectives. However, in these cases, animal experimentation is beneficial.
Because there are so many different perspectives about animal experimentation, some may say, who are we to measure the worth of a mouse's life and compare it to a human's. Who are we to say which life is more worth it? Is there a trade off we can actually calculate? Or is that unethical as well?
In the end, the answer to the question "Is it right?" varies. There will never be one answer that everyone can agree on, just like how there will never be a way to measure an animal's life to a human's.
However, there are certain circumstances where animal experimentation is very beneficial. For example, transgenic mice in the research of neurodegenerative diseases. These animals have contributed so much in research and allowed researchers to learn so much more about these diseases. Without these mice, researchers would not be as close as they are to finding cures. I'm not saying that it's okay to use animals to save human lives, nor am I saying animals should not be used at all for research and studies. There is constant debate about these perspectives. However, in these cases, animal experimentation is beneficial.
Because there are so many different perspectives about animal experimentation, some may say, who are we to measure the worth of a mouse's life and compare it to a human's. Who are we to say which life is more worth it? Is there a trade off we can actually calculate? Or is that unethical as well?
In the end, the answer to the question "Is it right?" varies. There will never be one answer that everyone can agree on, just like how there will never be a way to measure an animal's life to a human's.
That's very true! Your post was really interesting to read, as it's similar to my research topic. However, my research is mainly focusing on the scientific or medical reasons behind animal experimentation, rather than the ethics. I have found a lot of articles and researchers who said that animals shouldn't be used in research because they aren't structurally the same as humans. But you made a good point here in saying that animal experimentation is still very beneficial in medicine, which many people ignore or try to say can be replaced. Yet animal models are important in medical studies because of their similarities to us, and they have played a great role in research. In the end, however, it is true: it's hard to decide what it "right" and how much the benefits truly outweigh the risks.
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