Ignoring problems is what we do best. Normally when there is an issue, especially one like animal testing, it’s easier to disregard than acknowledge and try and help. I’m sure you remember Ralph the Rabbit; he circulated social media and pulled at our heartstrings for about 2 weeks, then disappeared from our minds and the internet forever.
It’s tough to see and talk about the pain and suffering that animals are going through this very second worldwide. Animal rights are being violated every moment just because they can’t communicate with words that they are suffering, even though animals feel everything we do.
Dogs, cats, monkeys, baby pigs, birds, hamsters, and more are being tortured for no reason at all; there are other ways to test a product's toxicity, but most companies would instead make an animal suffer to save a buck.
To put it bluntly, animals are being pumped and shot with toxic materials that cause blindness, diarrhea, and internal bleeding, and are put through a long and grueling death that can’t be stopped by anesthesia since death is the endpoint. Anywhere from one to three weeks is how long it takes for an animal to suffer until it dies.
The most common animal testing done is the Draize test. Ralph the Rabbit represents animals worldwide affected by animal testing but specifically animals affected by this test. Heather Dunnuck wrote, “In the Draize test the substance or product being tested is placed in the eyes of an animal (generally a rabbit is used for this test); then the animal is monitored for damage to the cornea and other tissues in and near the eye.” Death is normally the end result of this test and is known for being irregular, so it’s a waste of an animal's life.
The second most common kind of testing done on animals is the LD50 test, standing for “lethal dose 50” because 50% of the animals that it’s pumped into and force-fed die. Their end isn’t found until up to three weeks of agony.
With all of this said, what is there for us to do about it? The biggest course of action would be to always buy cruelty-free products. Next time you buy makeup, soap, chapstick, laundry detergent, etc, see if what your using is being tested on animals. We have the power to create a change, even if it’s as small as changing a brand we use in our everyday products.
This blog takes a nice strong position on the subject, but I feel like I need more CONTEXT for this discussion. WHO is testing on animals and why? You say there is no reason for it, but what reasons do those who test on animals give? Like, they aren't just doing it for FUN, right? What sorts of justifications do "they say"?
Though I'm unfamiliar with Ralph the Rabbit, I like that you've incorporated it here, as an illustration of what I think is an even broader issue than animal testing: the way that the social media news cycle moves us from one crisis of conscience to the next, without giving us a chance to really process or react or…