Should Animals Be Used for Scientific Research？My Answer is， yes！

For time being， the most controversial but widely-used animal research， also known as animal experimentation or animal testing has arisen great public concern since a living organism is an important choice for the study of most diseases and health issues.

To many people， who oppose animal testing， it is cruel， inhumane and morally offensive to use animals in medical research， cosmetic testing， dissection and many other purposes. Moreover， animals are not completely consistent with human being that animal researches are likely unreliable. Others who approve may say that the animals are the most appropriate testing subjects for their biological similarities to the mankind. It is the researches based on experimental animals that have contributed a big advance in drug and medical science. In my opinion， animals testing should be used for scientific research.

Firstly， Humans and animals are almost identical in many ways. According to CBRA Fact Sheet： Why Are Animals Necessary in Biomedical Research？ （2013）， ‘Chimpanzees share 99% of their DNA with humans， and mice are 98% genetically similar to humans.’ As mentioned above， because of the similar body system， animals and humans could have the same health problems to a large extent， such as cancer， heart disease， diabetes and others （Wright， Kazdin， Effron， 2012）. By experimenting on animals， the effects of each treatment can be easily studied， thus the most effective and secure ones for human can be filtered out. Sabin （1995） brought forward an argument that， the instrumental progresses in medicines have saved infinite lives， such as the exploitation of polio vaccine in 1957. Given these circumstances， animals used in experimentation do serve as appropriate research subjects.

Secondly， considering the researches for health issues are significant， animals are inevitably used. More precisely， some experiments are risky， unethical and impractical to use human being as subjects. For instance， the drugs or the treatments of some rare diseases like HIV/AIDS， undiscovered cancers and bacterial infections cannot be used on human before scientists ensure their safety. Therefore animal experiments are used to evaluate the risks in advance. Especially， genetic manipulations are involved in some kind of experiments， which are forbidden to apply to human subjects primarily （Speaking of Research， 2013）. Similarly， same statements are also released on the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki （2013）. Therefore， animals are the most suitable for research subjects.

Thirdly， compared to the tremendous cost of other testing subjects and numerous life consumption of animals， only a few animals are used in scientific research. This is supported by Holder， Speaking of Research and The Hastings Center（2013）， who illustrates that 9 billion chickens and 150 million cattle， pigs and sheep are eaten annually in the United States， while only 26 million animals （95% of them are rodents， birds and fish） are used for research. Meaning that， such kinds of researches would be more acceptable if the cost and subject consumption are taken into consideration.

Additionally， animal researches are necessary for there are no proper alternatives. Opponents of animal researches affirm that there are alternatives to be adopted. Based on the report of Rogers （2007）， it seems that human cells can be studied in a glass environment such as petri dish， with more relevant results than the ones that acquired from animal experiment. Likewise， Watts （2007） pointed out that it is also a good way of replacing animal experiment by using computer models such as virtual reconstructions of human molecular structures in the toxicity of substances study. However， cells study in the petri dish， sometimes generates imperfect results， for instance， the interrelated processes occurring is unable to be studied in the central nervous system， endocrine system and immune system （California Biomedical Research Association （2013）. As for computer models， they are reliable only if accurate data and information are properly collected and used， which is much more difficult. （Speaking of Research， 2013）

Lastly， in November 2008 the European Union put forward proposals to revise the protection regulations of animals used in scientific experiments. It requires member states to improve the breeding， accommodation and care measures and methods used in procedures so as to eliminate or reduce to a minimum any possible pain， suffering， distress or lasting harm caused to animals.

With all that being said above， I believe that animal testing is irreplaceable in scientific research and should not be banned so far， because they are cost effective and they can efficiently minimize possible unforeseen risks to human. More importantly， animals are similar to us in many ways. In the views of mine， this research method will remain adopted unless a better method is found.

References：

[1]California Biomedical Research Association.CBRA Fact Sheet： Why Are Animals Necessary in Biomedical Research？[J].ca-biomed.org accessed Oct，2013，15.

[2]California Biomedical Research Association.CBRA Fact Sheet： Why Are Animals Necessary in Biomedical Research？[J].ca-biomed.org （accessed Oct），2013，15.

[3]David Wright.Cole Kazdin， and Lauren Effron.“Zoobiquity”：7 Diseases Animals Share with Humans[OL].abcnews.go.com，June 12， 2012.

[4]Geoff Watts.Alternatives to Animal Experimentation[J].BMJ，Jan，2007，27.

[5]Jeffrey M.Perkel.Life Science Technologies：Animal-Free Toxicology：Sometimes，in Vitro is Better[J].sciencemag.org （accessed Oct，2013，15.

[6]Kara Rogers.Scientific Alternatives to Animal Testing：A Progress Report[OL].britannica.com，Sep，2007，17.

[7]New England Anti-Vivisection Society（NEAVS）[J].Biomedical Research neavs.org accessed Oct，2013，15.

[8]Speaking of Research.Animal Research Is Not“Animal Testing”[OL].speakingofresearch.com，Jan，2013，17.

[9]Speaking of Research.FAQ about Animal Research[OL].speakingofresearch.com accessed Oct，2013，15.

[10]Speaking of Research.US Statistics[J].speakingofresearch.com accessed Oct，2013，15.

[11]The Hastings Center.Fact Sheet： Animals Used in Research in the U.S.[J].animalresearch.thehastingscenter.org accessed Oct，2013，15.

[12]Tom Holder.Animal Research Is an Ethical and Vital Tool to Fight Disease[J].blogs.law.harvard.edu，Jan，2013，14.

[13]US National Institutes of Health（NIH）.Laws Related to the Protection of Human Subjects：World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki[J].history.nih.gov accessed Oct，2013，15.

【作者簡介】王佩昕，鄭州市第一中學。