Jazmin VazquezWriting 39CAdvocacy Project 1Dr.WayMarch 3, 2015

A Computer over the Life of an Innocent AnimalProblemThroughout time we have been able to cure many deadly diseases. Over time doctors and scientist have been able to create medicine that has helped many humans. They have saved many lives due to the medicine and surgical procedures. There is a question though, how do they make sure that the medicine, injections, or surgical procedures will not harm us? Animal Testing, the answer is animal testing. Doctors and scientist use animals as research, to test many medicines and surgical procedures before applying it on a human. It makes some sore of sense that all this things are practiced on another living creature before it is done on actual humans. But what is it really to the animals? How is this animal testing affecting them specifically? These animals are subjected to many experiments. These experiments things like poisoning for toxicity testing, damaging brain damage, testing out new drugs by infecting them with diseases. All of these things cause suffering fro example: long-term social isolation, withholding of food, separating babies from their mothers and much more. These animals are put under serious and dangerous circumstances. The organization New England Anti-Vivisection Society has an article called, Harm and Suffering| Animals Use in Research, in which they state, Many animal experiments utilize restraining devices, designed to prevent an animal from moving. Some research projects call for immobilization of specific parts of an animals bodyhead and neck, legs and pelviswhile other protocols involve immobilization of an animals entire body. Till what extent should the suffering of these animals be taken into consideration? Animals need daily exercise the same way us humans need it. Who voices out for these poor animals. The problem here is that the way these animals are being tested on is not humane. Experiments have been done in which rats and mcie have been immobilized by putting them in tubes. After these rats and mice are put in the tubes they are shocked with electricity on their feet. Later on they are put in water to see if they are able to keep themselves from drowning. This research or type of testing is used as a stress experiments. The researches that conduct experiments like this say, these experiments had relevance to human anxiety and depression. (neavs) No human or animal should be kept in hostility without moving for an extended period of time. Not only are these rats and mice kept without moving but also they are kept without food. There is no form of feeding these creatures if they are inserted in tubes.

There are other procedures that cause the suffering of animals in these testing labs. A big factor that the labs use and is very common used in humans as well is anesthesia. When paralyzing the body of an animal a researcher has to make sure he/she is keeping their vital signs monitored. If this process is not done correctly the animal will experience pain without being able to move. Another area that is very dangerous and causes a lot of the suffering of animals is genetic engineering and xenotransplantation. These are the surgical procedures in which tissue, cells, or organs are transplanted. NEAVS says, Many of these animals die, while suffering from abnormalities and other diseased conditions. These animals are many times weak and unable to adapt to whatever is being done to them. Genetic engineering takes over the animals body by trying to create specific traits in the animal. We were all given certain traits and genetic forms and these should no be changed. Researchers are forcing these animals to adapt to something they were not born with. Pain is not the only thing these animals are going through they are also going through severe stress. The reason for this stress that these animals are going through is for the living conditions they are going through. They spend their lives in barren cages, unable to make choices or express natural behaviors. Most never experience fresh air or sunshine, only bars and concrete, say the organization neavs. This type of lifestyle is not for these animals. Each animal is different and each one of them has their own type of environment. Some of these animals face stress by seeing other animals going through stress for example mice. In 2009 there was a case of monkeys that were going through chronic psychological distress. These monkeys we can say were going crazy. They were spinning around, ripping out their hair, and biting their own wounds. The correct term for this type of stress is stress-induced psychosis. Just the fact that these animals are living in such conditions is enough suffering by itself already. Then adding the suffering of the actual lab protocols. These animals are in these labs for short or long periods of time. Think about the suffering not just physically but mentally they go through. Is the pain of these animals even worth it?The suffering of these animals is being taken vain. Many research experiments done to these animals are having inaccurate results. This means that these animals are put through all these protocols and at the end of the day the experiments is not giving out the results researchers are expecting. The reason for this is because animals and humans do not process everything the same. Nutrition is an area that has caused many inaccurate results. There is a huge physiological difference between species. It is said that vitamin C helps to prevent cancer. Mice can synthesize the vitamin while us humans cant. Neavs said, Because of this species difference, rats are not an appropriate human model for studying the effects of fats. Although over 95% of our genome is similar to mice there are many differences we both have. With this differences results will continue to be inaccurate and this animals will be going through procedures that are unnecessary. Another experiment animls are used for has been to creat brain damage. Creating this brain damage stimulates the effects of a human stroke. (An Examination of Animal Experiments) the next protocol is to test out drugs to see if they can reduce the brain damage that was done. the American Heart Association in January 1990, reported that, of 25 different treatments that worked in rodents, not a single one worked in human patients, says the physicians committee in their An Examination of Animal Experiments Article. When brain damage is created the animal will not go back to its original brain form. Which means that they will have to live the rest of their lives with an abnormal brain. A lot of research being done to find cures for humans in results we have all these animals that are dying and suffering for nothing. Alternative SolutionsThere is a saying that is known by many people, there is a light at the end of the tunnel For these animals there is hope of other alternatives besides their lives. Now a days technology has advanced very much. An as time progresses technology just keep getting better and better. Scientists have now come up with different ways to test diseases and other things. They have come up with methods that will replace animals and use technology for example to get results. The 4 most known alternatives for animal testing are: in vitro testing, computer-modeling, studies with human volunteers, and human-patient simulators. The plus side to this is not only that animals will be kept safe but also that these methods are not hindered by species differences. Which means it will not be impossible to apply the test results of an animal to a human. On the other hand these methods usually take less time and money to accomplish.

In vitro TestingIn vitro testing is the use of test tubes in an experiment. These test tubes are used to

Computer-Modeling

Human Volunteers

Patient Simulators