Animal Rights: Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion

by Bradley Steffens

Presents opposing viewpoints on the treatment of animals. Includes critical thinking skill activities.

• Format: Library Binding
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0899086357
• ISBN13: 9780899086354
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Greenhaven Press
• Length: 36 Pages
• Age Range: 8 to 11 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 6

Customer Reviews

Animal Rights

This book tells me that along with people, animal have rights. Generally speaking,animal experimentation is good in most cases. As long as the scientist is actually working on finding a cure for something, then it is a good thing.Although some animals are treated unfairly sometimes, I think that animal experimentation is ethical because we can make sure medicines are safe and get advances in medicines, and because it is helping to decrease human suffering. For example, it has provided us with antibiotics and vaccines, insulin for diabetes, treatments for leukemia, and has made possible advances in medical technology, such as blood transfusion and the heart lung machine. The majority of animal testing is used for developing new treatments for disease, and fundamental biological medical research. All prescription drugs must be tested before they are allowed on the market. To get rid of animal experiments would be to stop modern medicine, to allow human suffering, and to put human's health at risk, by allowing products on the market without testing the level of toxicity. Humans share about ninety-nine percent of their genes with chimpanzees and only a little bit less with monkeys. This makes these animals a good guide to the human body. Along with providing research, it also serves as a way to reduce human suffering. With experimentation, we have been able to use anesthetics during surgery. Without anesthesia, the patient would feel every cut that the doctor made. It also is responsible for bringing us the polio vaccine. "I wonder how many of the people out protesting on animal experimentation on top of their stools skipped their polio vaccines when they were younger," says John D. Porter of the Division of Laboratory Animal Research. Animal experimentation has also decreased the number of endangered species around the world. By breeding these animals, scientists are able to create more of the species. This will hopefully lead into no more endangered species. Later on, we will not have to breed them any more because they will breed on there own. Experiments have helped a number of people and animals for a many reasons. Many people protest because they think that the animals I the labs are being mistreated. All experiments have to be approved by the Animal Rights Committee. If the terms are not met, then the experiments are illegal, and the scientist is forbidden from the experiment. Every animal is given the best care before, during, and after the experiment. Animal experimentation is ethical and should continue until there are no diseases or allergies at all.