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The issue concerning animal testing has always been controversial. Many of us think that such test should be banned. But in the same time, a large number of people is "for" animal tests. The truth and the point of agreement seem to be somewhere in the middle .
On one hand, we realize that medicine research has saved the lives of millions of people so far and surely will save many others. We must accept the fact, that if we want new medicines and medical advances, these animal tests are an important part of it .
There are plenty of treatments we still do not have, for example, for HIV and cancer. Animal studies provide the best guidance for what will happen when we give the treatment to humans. They ensure that the risks have been minimised. Tests carried out straight onto humans would involve unacceptably high risks to people .
We have to realize that saving human lives is a good enough reason for proper, controlled research. Besides, all these animal tests save also the lives of animals themselves .
All the above arguments are advanced by people who think that animal studies should not be banned. The research ought to be continued, according to them. But there are human beings who think otherwise .
Those who are against animal testing say that we have no right to inflict suffering on animals. Besides, in their opinion, animal tests are not a valid means of research. This is because, animals are anatomically and physiologically different from human beings, so we can not just apply test results to human beings. That is why, drugs that have been passed as safe after animal testing have sometimes turned out to have horrible side-effects on humans .
One should also take into consideration another important fact. Namely, for many years people have been led to believe that diseases like scarlet fever or smallpox declined because of animal experiments. However, history shows that the decline was due to better living standards and personal hygiene. Besides, it has been proved that cancer is mainly related to factors such as smoking, too much alcohol, overeating, over-exposure to sunlight and environmental pollution, and could be avoided. So, in case of this disease, animal testing seems to be completely redundant .
As we can see, the issue concerning animal research is not unimportant or trivial, as some people claim. In fact, it is a matter of great importance and we should all think of the best solution .
