Senseless Killing (Vivisection)

Member Name: Rissa

Product:	Vivisection
Date:	01/12/02 (439 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: some new medicines

Disadvantages: high failure rate, inhumane, allows us to be irresponsible for our own actions

I used to be neutral with regards to vivisection. I thought that if it wasn't for animal testing, we'd have no cures, no new medicines, and very few safe products. I didn't like the idea of blatantly mutilating and killing animals, but I figured whatever was being done in the research labs was only necessary, and for the benefit of mankind as a whole.

But after researching the topic for a speech, I came upon things that make my stomach turn. Pictures of monkeys locked in huge metal restraints, cats with their eyes cut out, mice with electrodes implanted into their brains. I can guarantee these pictures don't tell even close to the whole story. And it's not just the photos; all the statistics paint an even bleaker picture.

For example, in 2001 alone, 2,353,507 experiments (90% of all) involved either no anaesthetic or partial anaesthetic. ( www.uncaged.com) Can you imagine being cut up and burned and poisoned like these animals are, and having no aneasthetic on top of it???? What really makes me wonder is why the heck cutting and burning and poisoning are deemed necessary by vivisectors in the first place.

Some say animals have "striking" similarities to humans, that they're the only alternative to actual human testing. I'll be the first to call their bluff. I have taken many classes dealing with physiology and biology, and there's no way that animals are that similar to us. Human bodies have millions of enzymes, different organs, and different vital readings than animals do. I could go into detail upon detail, but if anyone reading this wants to check out some documented information, I recommend www.vivisection-absurd.org, www.uncaged.com, and the book Sacred Cows and Golden Geese.

Who gives us the right to perform such inhumane experiments on animals? Because they can't talk like we do, or articulate their feelings like we can, we think that they're somehow less th
an us. Why are human lives more valuable than animal lives??? Animals have as much of a right to live and breathe as we do. I'm sorry, but we have no right to determine anyone or anything's worth. That's why there's a God.

What it all comes down to is our laziness. Instead of taking measures to prevent illness & disease (high blood pressure, Type II Diabetes, heart attacks, high cholesterol, obesity, etc.), we sit back and wait for a new "miracle" drug to come out. Instead of taking responsibility for our own self-destructive behaviors, we have the mentality that animal research will result in a cure. I think it's time to point the finger at ourselves. Any one can tell you that the majority of diseases and deaths in today's society are attributed to unhealthy lifestyles. Take all the money wasted on fruitless and unethical vivisection experiments, and put it toward fitness, wellness, and prevention programs. You'd be surprised how much more productive the results would be.

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