When thinking about animal welfare, I tend to get caught up in the the more visible problems in our society – companion animals and factory farming. However, this week, I got a cold dose of reality while researching this post about animals used in research and testing. Take for example this quote from The American Physiological Society, a non-profit dedicated to scientific research in or related to physiological sciences.
“Animals are necessary to medical research when it is impractical or unethical to use humans…However, the most important reason why animals are used is that it would be wrong to deliberately expose human beings to health risks in order to observe the course of a disease”. [emphasis mine]Or a neurosurgeon from the U.K. that says:“People talk about cosmetics being the ultimate evil. But beautifying oneself has been going on since we were cavemen. If it’s proven to reduce suffering through animals tests, it’s not wrong to use them.”While I think we could debate the issue from many angles, it seems like the basic complaint about animals in research comes down to one thing: morality. Some people consider it a justified cost of life to ensure human safety and progress, others do not.I will admit, this is a deeper issue for me on a very personal level. I was born with a condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a neurological condition similar to Multiple Sclerosis. While I feel blessed to still be walking around and living a fairly normal life, many would say the only hope of a cure comes through drug tests on animals.Unfortunately, animal testing is not just for drugs that cure disease. Animals are also used to test the safety and efficacy of personal care products, pesticides, even chemicals and biological agents used in warfare. While the pressure of animals rights organizations has brought some of the issue to the attention of the public and media, there is still a long way to go in creating an alternative set of procedures that are trusted and accepted. The real problem is that as a society we have convinced ourselves that it is justified to take the lives of animals to ensure our own safety and advancement.While I am inclined to say we have more of a right as individuals to choose how we consume animals for food, I can find no justification for animal testing in any form. In my opinion, it is hard to deny that we have all evolved from a common descent no matter which religious or sociological filters are applied to the subject. To me, this means we are all interconnected in this world and therefore interdependent on one another.Humans have been given the gift of evolved thought and the ability to rationalize and solve complex problems. While I don’t want families and individuals to suffer from the perils of disease or products that are dangerous, I think we should use our minds to develop alternatives. It simply isn’t good enough to say we can’t – that animals are the only way to develop cures and safety protocols. This simply isn’t true and is really a picture of grotesque laziness. Imagine if, in developing computers or space travel, we said, as individuals or as a nation, “we can’t”. Where would we be today?The good news is that you can do something about this issue both in your daily purchases and in your actions. Check out the Leaping Bunny for a directory of products that are not tested on animals. If you want to go even further, another easy solution is to look for personal care products that have the vegan label. This means they were not tested on animals, and contain no animal products. Be aware, however, there is no regulatory body to ensure these claims so it is best to research who you are buying from. Companies like Aubrey Organics will not only disclose all of their ingredients, but will also actually talk to you about their origin and safety. The other thing you can do is look for opportunities to dialogue with the government about animal testing issues. You can find the contact information for nearly all government agencies here.As much as I would love to wake up one day and see my disease gone, I would never ask an animal to die for its cure. The cost simply outweighs the benefit. Who am I to say that I am worth it? Who are we as a race to say we are more important or valuable than animals? What some call progress, I tend to see as going backwards.”A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help”. – Dr. Albert Schweitzer
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