Although I am strongly against torturing animals and making them go through unnecessary tests for the sake of the human need to look beautiful, I still think that it is necessary in terms of medical advance. We are living in an age where new diseases are just around the corner and researchers need to keep up with the pace to save the human kind from going extinct, and for that reason, animal testing is vital. Yes, animals do have as much rights to live as do humans, but testing unknown cures and treatments on human beings without being sure of its effects is just not possible. It is too much of a risk, and hypothetically, it could become the end of the human race.
I definitely feel that we do need to raise awareness on the issue and save animals from unnecessary torture because it is one thing if testing on animals would save lives, but completely different if it is done with another purpose such as for cosmetics. The difference is that we do have a choice and that is to simply not use make-up or to look for other options that do not necessarily need to be tested in advance, whereas for science it is different because it could end up saving lives all over the world. With that in mind, we need to draw a line on what is of importance and what is not. We, as citizens of the world need to stop being selfish and take our responsibility of taking care of our planet and the living creatures that occupy it. If we are comfortable with taking the life of an innocent animal to save the life of a human being, we need to make sure that this is only limited to scientific research, and for everything else, we need to do all we can to put an end to innocent animal lives going to waste!
- The reader is a Swedish student based in Dubai.
