By Chanel Alysson Paraoan
Animals generate many emotions from people while others see them as a tool for improving medical knowledge or expanding experimental study. For decades, the use of animals in research and commercial testing has been a source of conflict. Animals continue to be unfairly treated by research centers and cosmetics industries all around the country and the world. According to statistics collected by F. Barbara Orlans for her book "In the Name of Science: Issues in Responsible Animal Experimentation," scientific research and product-safety testing account for 60% of all animals used in testing. Despite effective animal testing serves people, the misery, torment, and deaths of animals are not worth the potential human benefits....
When animals are involved in research, their rights are abused. In many aspects, animals and humans are similar; they both feel, think, behave, and feel pain. Animals are exposed to painful and often fatal tests when they are exploited for product toxicity testing or laboratory research. As a result, animals and people should be treated equally. Unfortunately, when animals are utilized in research, their rights are violated since they are not given a choice. Tom Regan, a philosophy professor at North Carolina State University, states: "animal (experimentation) is morally wrong no matter how much humans may benefit because the animal's basic right has been infringed. Risks are not morally transferable to those who do not choose to take them" (qtd. in Orlans 26).
The use of animals in product research is entirely unnecessary because there are potential substitutes. Human tissues and cells have been studied to research the impact of dangerous drugs, and computers have been used to model and predict the possible damage that a product or chemical might produce. In vitro testing is also another procedure that involves doing cellular tests within a test tube. All of these tests have been shown to be helpful and viable alternatives to using live animals to test products. As a result, testing potentially lethal compounds on animals is unnecessary because reliable methods of product toxicity testing exist without the use of live animals.
Experimental animals are basically tortured to death, and all of these trials are carried out in for human's benefits, with little regard for the abuse of animals. However, many continue to feel that animal experimentation is ethical because the animals are killed in order to make items safer for human use and consumption. The difficulty with this logic is that the safety, well-being, and quality of life of the animals are rarely considered. Animal testing should be banned since it violates the rights of animals, causes pain and suffering to experimental animals when there are better and other ways to determine product toxicity. Humans cannot justify torturing and killing millions of animals each year to conduct scientific experiments or test goods in the name of making life better for themselves. Animals should be treated with respect and dignity, and when animals are exploited for selfish human benefit, this right to humane treatment is violated. After all, humans are animals too.
By Roan Francisco
In years of humanity’s existence, the role of the animals can be considered as one of the factors that have greatly shaped human culture. The contribution of the animals to society is of much importance as it has generously benefited the people since the distant past. Animals have always been a source of food, clothing, and subservient workforce for humankind. These animals have also taken part in the religious customs, either for religious sacrifices or worshiping, done way back the earliest times. Moreover, People have long been reliant on their unique contributions to balance out nature and the much needed companionship that they provide...
The sadness, pain, and feelings animals have are all the same feelings that humans have when they are treated with cruelty, neglect, and abuse. Animal cruelty is a terrible crime that can lead to serious harm or even death of innocent animals. There are many organizations that are looking to seek help against animal cruelty. Animal cruelty may not only occur when an owner beats or assaults their pet, but also during animal testing. Some owners are ignorant and do not even realize when they are abusing and neglecting their animals. In most cases though there are owners that are intentionally beating and starving animals. It is up to us to bring awareness and help animals. All living things have a right to live on this Earth but we become insensitive to their pain, only because animals can’t speak the language of humans.
Most of the animals found on the road were abandoned by their house owners, the bulk of those animals square measure either cats or dogs. With reference to abandoned dogs, those animals while not superintended reproduce, breeding puppies that are not desired and so, square measure assaulted through the neglect that they’re left to suffer alone within the cruel world of the road. The tough conditions that street animals endure square measure major issues in animal welfare these days.
Overbreeding involves breeding an animal more than its body can safely handle resulting in detrimental health effects to the mother and her puppies as well as the overpopulation and subsequent euthanasia of many unwanted animals every year. Backyard breeding is also a term used to describe the irresponsible breeding of animals and usually occurs due to ignorance or neglect. Where breeding is accidental as a result of an owner not desexing their pet, the health of the pet can be put at risk as most owners are unaware of the special requirements of a pregnant or nursing mother and her litter. In other cases, pets are deliberately bred so that the offspring can be sold and it is often these cases where overbreeding occurs. In addition to the significant health concerns for both the mother and her litter, overbreeding is the principal contributor to the already significant numbers of unwanted companion animals resulting in full and overcrowded shelters and rescue groups.
Dog fighting is a very cruel thing, and it is happening right under our noses. It is illegal to fight a dog in all fifty states. By being an observer at a dog fight, it is against the law in forty-seven states. So why do people continue this cruel practice? The answer seems to be money. Some people who breed dogs for fighting can sell their puppies for up to two thousand dollars. Even though fighting dogs is making money, it is cruel since pain is inflicted on the dogs.
By Gil Jazmine Nacionales
An ecosystem's health is maintained by plants and animals. It's also a sign that an ecosystem is out of balance when species become endangered. But why is this significant? Ecosystems, on the other hand, are groups of plants and animals that live in the same region and interact with one another. The habitats we know today, such as rainforests, mountains, and savannahs, are the result of these interactions. However, maintaining ecosystem balance isn't always easy: the extinction of one species often leads to the extinction of others. The Earth has already been through five mass extinctions and is about to go through a sixth....
According to studies, over 99 percent of all species, or over five billion species, that have ever existed on Earth are now extinct. But why does it happen? What are natural reasons for the species to disappear? Habitat fragmentation and climate change are usually connected. However, there are more considerations that lie under them.
An endangered animals is one that is highly likely to go extinct in the near future, either globally or within a certain political jurisdiction. Habitat loss, poaching, and invasive species are all potential threats to endangered species. These are animals that previously had a large population, but now have dwindled numbers and are classified as endangered species. Extinct creatures are organisms that no longer exist on the globe. To keep endangered animals from going extinct, we must do everything we can. We have been ruining their habitat and killing them for their meat, so many animals are going extinct as a result of our actions. Now is the time to make a change, or you can be the change! There are so many endangered species around the world that if you save one animal and another person saves another, you've already made a difference.
There are numerous causes of species extinction, however conservation scientists realize that various processes along with human activity reinforce each other to produce a species' extinction. First, when people migrated to a previously empty area, most huge animals, slow animals, and delectable creatures suffered the same fate. There are several examples in history of creatures becoming extinct as a result of hunting and the resulting deaths of their predators, if not by direct killing, then by starvation due to a lack of food. There are several historical stories of humans overhunting and overharvesting species, resulting in their endangerment and, in some cases, extinction. The Passenger Pigeon, for example, is an extinct species that exemplifies how people overhunted a species, resulting in its extinction. Also, it is responsible for the near extinction of some high-profile species today, like as elephants for their ivory tusks and rhinos for their horn. The horn is advertised as a remedy for anything from hangovers to cancer at astronomical prices.
In line with this, it is one of the most significant causes of species extinction, both in the animal and plant worlds. Many species are becoming endangered in our world today owing to the loss of their natural habitat. Deforestation, agricultural expansion, water extraction, mining, and human migration have either destroyed or fragmented the species' only habitats, implying a delayed extinction of the species. Due to habitat destruction, Indian elephants are the first species on our endangered list. Elephants are not only regarded as a cultural icon in India, but they also contribute to the preservation of the forests and grasslands. A rise in the human population in India has left these wonderful creatures with little common land. Humans are encroaching on protected areas and removing forests for roads and other construction, resulting in a dramatic decline in the habitats of these adored animals. Indian elephants have little choice but to confine themselves to places with little food and shelter.
In addition, multiple sorts of pollution can have an impact on any ecosystem. Toxins have an impact on plant and animal health, just as they do on human health. Toxic compounds have been discovered in pristine woods and Arctic animal blood. Litter can be seen floating deep in the waters, thousands of miles from land. Birds and animals' regular habits are being disrupted by light and noise pollution. Water pollution degrades the water's quality. In other cases, pollution is even radioactive. Eutrophication results in dead zones. This happens when algae blooms take over a body of water and consume all of the oxygen. In these Zones, no other life can survive. Because of their appearance in the water, these toxic algal blooms are sometimes known as red tides or brown tides. Sea turtles are a well-known marine mammal, but despite the fact that sculptures of them can be seen on necklaces, glasses, and beach towels, they are in grave danger due to human pollution. The Pacific Loggerhead sea turtle is one of the many animals that are regularly harmed by discarded plastics such as six pack rings and plastic wrapping. It's for this reason that plastic pollution is now considered to be more dangerous to sea turtles than oil spills.
While there are many endangered species around the world, there are also numerous conservation projects happening. Governments, non-profit organizations, international organizations, local communities, and individuals are all collaborating to help endangered species populations grow. They're also bolstering public awareness programs aimed at enlisting even more individuals in critical conservation efforts. Individuals can make a difference by learning about and raising awareness about endangered animals in their communities and around the world. Volunteering and collaborating with governments and organizations on existing conservation projects is a viable method to do this. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about animal conservation while also gaining practical field experience. These transferable talents will help you land a job in sustainable development. The health of the environment is maintained through a well-balanced ecosystem. This ensures that humans have access to clean air and water, as well as agriculturally fertile land. As a result, if ecosystems aren't preserved, our health may suffer as well. As a result, when you contribute to the conservation of endangered species, you are also contributing to the overall well-being of humanity.
By Lance Herbert Dela Cruz
Imagine being trapped forever inside a closed closet with zero control over your life. How you spend your time, whether or not you marry and have children, or who your spouse will be. You have no control over when the lights turn on and off. This is the horrifying reality that animals used in animal experiments have to face and is that right? Using animals in research and performing several and different kinds of experiments on them has been a topic of heated debate for decades. Some say it is beneficial in order to further research and gain knowledge/discoveries in different fields especially science. But we believe it is inhuman, cruel, and unjust....
Animals used in experimentation and research have been going for 2000 years and up until now, it is still prevalent. Every year, 20 million animals are bred and produced only for the purpose of being tested on. Every year, fifty-three thousand animals are utilized in medical and veterinary colleges. The remainder is put to use in basic research. The demand for animals to be utilized in studies in the United States is constantly increasing. Animal experiments cause psychological and physical harm to animals, as well as a complete disregard for their quality of life, and hence must be disallowed. Different animals are subjected to a wide range of tests everyday of their lives in a lab. Toxicity testing is one of them which is the process of assessing whether or not a chemical is poisonous. Inhalation, ingestion, eye contact, and skin touch all expose animals to chemicals. They were normal until a scientist injected chemicals, germs, or other substances into them to cause an illness or establish symptoms of a specific ailment. Scientists watch animals as they succumb to sickness. In dogs, they cause hemophilia (excessive bleeding), epilepsy (seizures), glaucoma (eye illness) in rabbits, and deafness in cats. They would be placed into the cage and neglected after the terrible, excruciating experience of an experiment. That is, until they are engaged in another experiment. When someone walks by, they usually cower in the corner of their cages, shivering in fright. They'd never know when they'd be pulled out of their jail cells for another grueling surgery, procedure, or possibly death. They are bred to die, and it is for this purpose that they were born on this planet, to allow scientists to test the effects of treatments and diseases. This is the awful life of these animals in which they did not choose but we chose for them.
This unjust act is still going on because people always find a cause or reason in which they believe is right. There are still a number of claims made in support of animal experimentation. One assertion is that there is no appropriate alternative to testing on live systems; however, this is a fallacy because there are various other successful scientific methods for testing on live systems. Animals do not have rights, hence it is permissible to experiment on them, religious traditions allow for human dominance over animals, and US health groups support animal experimentation. All of these assertions make a rhetorical appeal to authority and just shows human superiority.
These animals have done nothing wrong, so why must they endure these misery, isolation, and pain? They certainly did not choose this kind of life. Some may say that they don’t have feelings or thoughts so it doesn’t matter if it’s unjust. But animals actually do have the cognitive ability and feelings like humans do, so they should be given the same ethical rights that we have. Each day in a lab, they are slaughtered, tortured, neglected and starved for what we believe is progress in human knowledge. Everyday innocent animals have to face these consequences because of us. This awful act called animal experimentation is just a cover up for what really is animal torture/slaughter and it should be stopped. Animals have showed us more love and affection than most humans can so in return, let’s save them from a life of misery they did not choose and be the voice they didn’t have.