Username Password remember me Forgot Password? Medical Research Drug Development & Testing The Ethical Argument Science of the Future Dr Greek’s Office NAVS Science Initiatives   History Mission Financial Information   Join Donate Shop Renew Membership Estate Planning   General What is vivisection? Who experiments on animals? Who funds animal research? How many animals are used in research? Why should I be opposed to animal experimentation? Haven’t animals always been used to learn about life processes? Do anti-vivisectionists propose testing on humans instead of animals? When did people start experimenting on animals? What does the term “animal-modeled research” mean? Why is animal-modeled research an invalid way to learn about human disease? Aren’t all animals—human and nonhuman—more similar than different? Are the animals used in research treated humanely? But aren’t there laws that protect animals used in research? What species is used the most as a “laboratory” animal, and why? How are animals used in agricultural research? Are there any scientists who oppose animal experimentation? Why do most scientists defend animal research? Who else profits from animal research besides scientists? Why haven’t anti-vivisectionists been more successful in convincing scientists to stop experimenting on animals? What are the ethical issues involved in using nonhuman animals as laboratory subjects? Weren’t animals put on this earth for humans to use as they please? Do anti-vivisectionists propose testing on humans instead of animals? Why do some anti-vivisectionists object to the term “alternatives” when speaking of non-animal research modalities? Are there any non-animal methods that have been around a long time? What does prevention have to do with animal experimentation? What is animal testing? What is pound seizure? Product Testing How are animals used in product testing? What do tests for eye and skin irritancy involve? What is the LD-50 test? Why do companies conduct animal testing? Aren’t companies required by the federal government to test their products on animals? Which animal species are most often used in product testing? Is animal testing of cosmetics, personal care and household products necessary to protect consumers? Does animal testing ensure that a product is safe to use? Do vitamins have to be tested on animals? Must contact lens products be tested on animals? If we didn’t test products on animals, how could we be sure we’re protecting the health and safety of consumers? Has animal testing of cosmetics, personal care and household products increased or decreased in recent years? What are the non-animal alternatives to product testing? Education Which animal species are most commonly used in classroom dissection exercises? Where do animal specimens used in dissection exercises come from? What is the impact on the environment as a result of capturing frogs in the wild for dissection? Is there a connection between dissection and the growing desensitization to violence in young people? What are student choice laws? Which states have passed student choice laws? If we didn’t use animals in the classroom, how would students learn about life processes? What are some non-animal alternatives to dissection exercises? Is there any economic benefit to using non-animal alternatives? With so many different kinds of non-animal alternatives available, why do many biology teachers continue to support dissection? Aren’t biology teachers correct when they insist that there is no substitute for the experience of dissecting an animal and handling its internal organs? Why do anti-vivisectionists oppose science fair projects involving the use of vertebrate animals? If medical students couldn’t practice surgical techniques on animals, wouldn’t that compromise the learning process and put their future patients at risk? Which U.S. medical schools do not use animals to train their medical students? Scientific Research What are the different ways animals are used in biomedical research? Has the number of animals used in biomedical research increased or decreased over the years? Where do laboratories obtain the animals they use for biomedical research? Isn’t animal research the most effective way to test new medicines and surgical instruments and procedures? How does animal research sidetrack medical progress and compromise human health? Aren’t people and animals enough alike to make animals adequate test subjects for humans in the laboratory? Why are rodents inadequate models for human disease? Can the results of studies from different species within the same genus give different results? Wouldn’t medical progress come to a grinding halt if we stopped experimenting on animals? Has animal research ever contributed to medical knowledge? Don’t surgeons train on animals before operating on humans? If animal research is so ineffective, why do scientists continue to do it? What about the claim by animal researchers that you must animal test in order to observe a “whole system” model? If we didn’t test on animals, how could we find cures for human diseases? Isn’t the use of animals necessary if we are to find a cure for AIDS? Isn’t the use of animals necessary if we are to find a cure for cancer? Isn’t the use of animals necessary if we are to find a cure for diabetes? Is it true that the availability of penicillin was delayed as a result of animal testing? How could we have discovered a vaccine for polio without using animals? How do animal studies impact on the drug development process? How would we determine the safety of drugs for human use without first testing them on animals? If you want to avoid subjecting human patients to unexpected side effects, why not conduct more animal tests during the development process? How can we know what medications will cause birth defects without first testing them on animals? Are there any examples of drugs that have caused birth defects in humans, but not in animals? What are some examples of drugs that have caused birth defects in animals, but not in humans? What are some examples of pharmaceutical drugs that caused serious side effects not revealed in animal studies? What are some examples of cases where animal studies delayed medications and treatments for human patients? Do drugs continue to be tested on animals after they have been released for human use? What is postmarketing drug surveillance, and how would it be more effective than animal testing in monitoring side effects? Wouldn’t the tragedy of thalidomide have been avoided if more animal studies had been done? Is it true that all the Nobel Prize winners in medicine used animals in their research? What is xenotransplantation, and why do anti-vivisectionists oppose it? Could xenotransplantation really create an epidemic of new diseases in humans? What animals are used in experimental xenotransplants? Isn’t xenotranplantation the most practical solution to the shortage of human organ donors? Have any human patients received a xenograft? What are transgenic animals? What are some of the advances that have been made without the use of animals? How do autopsy studies advance medical knowledge? What are clinical studies? What are epidemiological studies, and how are they more effective in revealing the nature of disease than animal studies? What are some non-animal technologies that have emerged in recent years? What is in vitro technology? What is the Human Genome Project, and how will it advance medical knowledge? What non-animal methods have been shown to be more effective in our understanding of cancer? Why aren’t non-animal methodologies used more extensively? Why do non-animal alternatives have to be “ validated”? What is the process for validating a non-animal alternative?