Animals were friends or foes of humanity at different stages of the human history. In modern times, experiments upon animals have been a breeding ground for spirited debate. Some animal rights activists argue that we should ban animal experiments altogether because subjecting animals to experimentation is unwarranted on moral grounds, whereas some other people contend that the advancement of science necessitates animal testing. Personally, I am in favor of the latter view.
Granted, mounting empirical evidence suggests that many animal experiments are performed callously without any heed to the discomfort or pain that laboratory mammals endure. For one thing, improper confinement of test animals such as locking them up in cramped cages is inhumane; and this, in turn, can severely disrupt natural biological functions of the test animal. For another, the effects of vaccination or vivisection conducted on live mammals can be chilling. In extreme cases, they constitute sheer torture of animals.
Nevertheless, from a more pragmatic standpoint, evidence abounds that animal subjects are still an indispensable part of scientific research at this phase of human development. In the first place, drug experimentation on live mammals is, indisputably, far more effectual than experimentation on bacteria or on other lower species in determining drug safety. Medical history informs that drugs that can potentially exert grave side effects on homo sapiens must be tested by pharmaceutical companies on live mammals first to ascertain their toxicity. In the second place, in the realm of space research, live animals are still practical alternatives on a flight not considered to be sufficiently safe for human astronauts. And I would be hard-pressed to imagine the scenario that human lives should be put at stake when the objective of a space mission is merely to identify living creatures reaction to outer space experience. Lastly, lab research about the behavioral tendencies of chimpanzees, gorillas or other members of the primate group is also a worthy endeavor, in light of the fact that it generates outcomes consistently advancing anthropological and genetic sciences.
To conclude, I concede that experiments upon animals may induce suffering to the test animals. However, it is generally arguable that there are no practical alternatives to this methodology at the current stage of scientific development. On balance , I am convinced that what we should do is to allow animals testing to be continued but at the same time use techniques such as analgesic, anesthetic and tranquilizing drugs to minimize the pain of the test animal.
Battery risk, Farmer anti-theft solution 纽扣电池的潜在危险,牧场主防盗有术
Delhi's pollution and South Africa's solar power 新德里环境污染,南非发展太阳能
Counting elephants, Australian Elvis 空中数大象,澳大利亚“猫王节”
Zika virus, Rare whale filmed in Australia 寨卡病毒传播风险,澳大利亚拍到罕见鲸鱼影像
Cyclists make Olympic history, 400-year-old shark 英国自行车运动员创英奥运历史,400岁格陵兰鲨鱼
Ten a penny 多得遍地都是
Solar superpower, female commander and hospital demolished 太阳能超级大国,女海军司令官和著名医院化为废墟
Darkness over Indonesia and the 'fifth Beatle' dies 印度尼西亚日全食,“第五位披头士”去世
All things to all people 八面玲珑
Chelsea doctor and surfing in Australia 切尔西队医与球队和解,澳大利亚冲浪
Antibiotics and escalator etiquette 美国人过多使用抗生素,伦敦地铁扶梯礼仪
Brexit and Hockney's art 英国脱欧公投后进展,大卫·霍克尼艺术展
Big Ben and gorilla surprise 维修大本钟,大猩猩生子
Distinguished 和 distinguishable 之间的区别
Afghanistan, cancer and athletics boss 英美支持阿富汗政府军,癌症发病原因, 国际田联官员停职
Phelps makes history and marine species 菲尔普斯创造历史,海洋新物种
Zika virus and the A4 waist challenge 寨卡病毒,“A4腰挑战”
Diabetes warning and Queen at 90 糖尿病激增引忧, 英国女王90岁生日
Ditch 和 abandon 之间的区别
Alligator takes boy and Tate Modern extension 鳄鱼拖走小男孩,泰特现代美术馆扩建完工
Cosmonaut anniversary and wallaby internet star 宇航员周年纪念日,小袋鼠轰动互联网
Appreciate 和 recognise 之间的区别
World's longest tunnel and a strange kind of race 世界最长铁路隧道,扛羊毛袋比赛
California wildfires and cloned animals 加利福尼亚州野火,克隆动物衰老过程正常
In one ear and out the other 左耳进,右耳出
US-Cuba flights and male cosmetic surgery 美国-古巴复航和男性整容手术
Mars bars and baby gorilla 火星巧克力棒和大猩猩产幼子
Distinct 和 distinctive 之间的区别
Zuma in court and stressed horses 南非总统受审和马的精神压力
Drought in Ethiopia and MS treatment 埃塞俄比亚干旱,多发性硬化治疗手段新进展
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