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Laura Vilasboas

Lauren Hughes

CP English 10

26 January 2024

Unmasking the Unseen suffering of animal testing.

In the quiet confines of many laboratories, a moral debate is louder than any scientific

discovery or experiment. Using animals for product testing has created a market for goods and

services where the unethical process has become the foundation of many companies'

manufacturing. Animal testing refers to the use of animals in scientific experiments to

understand, develop, and test the safety and effectiveness of new products like cosmetics or

medication. Although animal testing has helped greatly in scientific advances, we still have

ethical concerns about animal welfare and the development of alternative methods has generated

debates about the ethics and necessity of testing.

Animal testing is a contentious topic, but just because is not mentioned in your daily it

does not mean we should accept it without question. In today's industries, thousands of animals

suffer from activities that seem natural but were prohibited 100 years ago. We need to understand

that the way animals are being treated as objects and guinea pigs is also completely unfair and

unethical, and yet it is still acceptable. Products we use for hygiene and cleaning contain

chemical substances that are tested on the skin, eyes, or organs of healthy animals, which are

often exposed to these harmful substances. All this practice allows the tested product to be

approved and reach us, humans, safely. Many people argue that animal testing is a necessary evil

to advance medical and scientific knowledge. Still, others, like me, believe it is an inhumane
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practice that must be abolished. The animals most used in tests are mice, however, many others

such as guinea pigs, monkeys, dogs, and rabbits are used as lab animals in laboratories. One of

these tests is the Draize test, or the eye irritation test, which is generally carried out on rabbits,

the test consists of immobilizing the animal and keeping its eye open to drip the substances

without difficulty, this procedure causes pain, redness, swelling and can cause eye hemorrhage

and blindness. An example that went viral around the world was a video published by The

Humane Society of the United States, Ralph the Rabbit, an animation of an injured rabbit who

comes forward to ask that the use of cosmetics on animals stop. In the video, Ralph comments on

the pain he felt during the tests he suffered during the time, such as a deaf ear, his blind eye,

burns all over his hair, and pain throughout his body. Ralph emphasizes, “But it’s okay. We do it

for humans, right? They are far superior to us animals” He says, ironically. Ralph also comments

on all of his family members who died as guinea pigs, such as his parents and children. In

another scene, humans catch him and hold him by the neck to carry out the procedure. “I know it

sounds bad, but I see it this way: it's my job,” says Ralph. Seeing this video as a kid influenced

me to stop using products that require animal testing because it touched me to see that there are

multiple different animals in those situations, that suffer every day for humans to be more safe.

In addition to prohibition and the creation of laws, it is also up to us, humans, to reflect

on how we are treating animals, and whether we are fair. We believe that we do not have the

right to harm an animal for our benefit. In my opinion, this is unfair and cruel, however, we

continue to do this to innocent species, who have emotions. If animals are as similar to us as we

say, they should also have the same rights, the right not to be mistreated and discarded like trash

without having the right to defend themselves and fight for themselves. I had a friend who had
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never heard of veganism and vegetarianism and who didn't think it was necessary to test any

product before going to the market. When I showed her the video of Ralph the rabbit, she was

thrilled and went to research the procedures that are carried out in laboratories. She was

impressed and shocked to find out how we treat animals to release a new color of nail polish or a

different smell of perfume. After that, she started looking for the “Not tested on animals” seal on

the packaging and decided to no longer use products that were tested on animals, just like me. It

is crucial to oppose these practices, to protest to inform and expose brands that commit this

animal cruelty, to boycott brands that are not committed to abolishing testing, and to invest in

other ways so that the alternative to animal testing becomes viable. And as PETA (People for the

Ethical Treatment of Animals) has already proven, there are many other ways that these products

can be tested that do not involve the mistreatment of innocent animals. Some of them are Cell

Cultures, Tissue Engineering, Computer (in silico) modeling, Research with Human Volunteers,

Human Patient Simulations, 3D bioprinting, Stem cell research, and more.