A Cause For Paws and Claws

The Issue

Animal testing is being done more often than you think by most companies for the following reasons: To obtain data to show to the public or for Government approval, To further develop the product, To guarantee consumer safety, and In general just to achieve the desired outcome for their products which is for the product to be sold to consumers without causing harm. It is also being done because there is no certain law that prohibits animal testing from being done by companies, it is even required in some to prevent toxicity of products. However, we must ask ourselves “At what cost does the perfectly developed, 100% safe, proven and tested product come with?”.

Animal testing refers to the procedures performed on living animals for research purposes such as: Pharmaceuticals, food and drugs, and medical discovery. Animals are often the go to subject for testing these products to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the different products due to the fact that some of the genetic make-up humans are present in other animals. Although the cause for animal testing is justified, the ends to do not exactly justify the means.

According to studies, roughly 150 million animals are used in animal testing each year worldwide and 110 million of these animals being tested, die. That is almost 73% of the population of animal subjects each year. Mice, cats, dogs, rabbits, and fishes are the species that have the highest mortality rate during testing. In the US, between 2015 and 2019, more than 300,000 animals covered under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) were subjected to painful experiments without pain relief. Although animal testing is not preventable, some companies take advantage of this necessity and expose animals to cruel and inhumane testing procedures.

An example of a company that is still conducting cruel animal testing is Ajinomoto, a company that is known for providing Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) a product that enhances flavors of different types of food. The company has conducted cruel and deadly testing on animals such as force feeding animals, taking their blood, and then killing and dissecting their bodies afterwards. That is only one of many forced experiments they have done to develop the MSG. What's more horrifying about their animal testing is they have been doing this to thousands of animals since 1950 only for them to claim that their product is safe to use for consumers.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an organization that has taken action against companies that have been conducting cruel animal testing. PETA is the world's largest animal rights organization, and they have been working on companies such as General Mills, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nissin Foods, and many others to address the issue of animal testing for the past years. In 2019, PETA was able to reveal a dark side behind the Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) flavor enhancer produced by Ajinomoto, and ever since, PETA has been trying to address the cruel animal testing being conducted by the company Ajinomoto.

With that being said, the first solution that our organization would like to offer is for the companies and laboratories to implement the 3Rs. The 3Rs are as follows: Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement. Replace animal testing with other non living experimentation if possible like simulations and in vitro biological system. Reduce the number of animals used for testing. 150, 000, 000 million is too much for a year alone. And then Refine the techniques and procedures used for animal testing to minimize the pain and impact to the animals during the procedure.

Secondly, our organization would like the propose thorough evaluation of methodology before undergoing animal testing. Proper evaluation could make all the difference as it could filter those studies that do not necessarily need to employ animal testing and could use other methods of testing as mentioned earlier. With this, we can drop the number of animals used in testing every year.

We implore you to support our cause as it could greatly save the lives of millions of animals. Some companies already stopped or minimized the use of animal testing and so does other laboratories. It is a well known fact that animal testing could not be completely abolished but it could be reduced and in return reduce the deaths of animal subjects.

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