The Use Of Non Human Tests Subjects For Experimentation...

Definition Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, is the use of non-human test subjects for experimentation and research studies (2). This definition is very broad because it is used in numerous fields such as drug testing, brain functionality, effects of food additives, pesticides, DNA modification, xenotransplantation, cosmetic testing, cancer research, AIDs research and many more. Overall, animal testing is a professional conflict, but it can also be considered as a personal conflict whether or not you believe it is right to test on any animal for the sake of science. Types of animals (Consciousness) Because one species is more clever than another, does it give it the right to imprison or torture the less clever†¦show more content†¦This is done so researchers know the exact genes or traits that the animal being tested is exhibiting so they can control the number of possible variables that can affect their their results. In the past, dealers were licensed by the USDA to sell animals from â€Å"random sources† including animal shelters, â€Å"free to a good home† ads, stolen pets and some were taken completely from the wild. This is a much less common practice because it includes variety in your animals which could skew the researcher’s results and it is frowned upon. (Source?) However, the question remains whether it is ethical to perform research on animals that exhibit some form of consciousness. Consciousness is a very vague term and has been defined as many terms such as sentience, awareness of itself within its surroundings, subjectivity, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind and many more vague definitions(3). It has been known through thousands of experiments that animals from a wide range of species can exhibit emotions such as happiness, jealousy, grief, and stress(4). The first animal to ever ask an existential question was a Grey African Parrot by the name of Alex. The question he asked the trainer was â€Å"What color am I?† and learned the meaning of grey after being told. Alex was studied by a behavioral psychologist from the late 70’s to the early 2000’s. He was