• Question: Do you think it is right to use animals for experiments?

    Asked by A.Lee2004 to Kevin, Liz, Beccy, Rosie on 12 Jun 2017. This question was also asked by alice.
    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 12 Jun 2017:

      You and I are both safer today because of animal experimentation that went on in the past. Scientists were able to look for indications of safety risks in newly developed medicines and vaccines before they were tried on humans. That process isn’t fool proof – sometimes issues aren’t discovered until the medicine is in people – like thalidomide. There are very strict rules on what experiments can be conducted on animals to make sure their use will give really important information and to minimize animal suffering.

      My personal work is all computer based – but this is my personal perspective.

    • Photo: Rosie Fok

      Rosie Fok answered on 12 Jun 2017:

      Only if it is absolutely necessary. If there is another way to study the disease or the treatment, then we should always do that. But a total ban on experiments involving animals would be medical science would not be able to progress towards curing or treating some of the diseases that cause great human suffering.

    • Photo: Liz Buckingham-Jeffery

      Liz Buckingham-Jeffery answered on 13 Jun 2017:

      I agree with Rosie: If we absolutely have to for the development of new medicines then i think it’s ok, as long as it is also done in the most humane way.

      But I completely disagree with using animals for testing products like makeup and bubble bath.

    • Photo: Rebecca Corkill

      Rebecca Corkill answered on 19 Jun 2017:

      I think it is the context of things. Luckily there is an ethics board that you need to go through if you want to work on animals.
      So if it is to work on a cure/ vaccine then I think it’s right. If it is for the cosmetics industry then, no I think it is a horrible reason.

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