The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged

by the way its animals are treated. Mahatma Gandhi

How can we claim to have transgressed each and every
technological, social and cultural boundary so far when we are
still barbarians to our very cores, using innocent animal lives in
order to test anything ranging from highly beneficial drugs to
basic cosmetics. I rebuke any idea whatsoever stating that animal
trials are necessary and have both science and nature to back up
my arguments.
Firstly, Animals are burned, cut, maimed, addicted to drugs,
starved, and given fatal diseases, often with no anaesthesia. In
fact, no federal law regulates what happens to animals during
actual experiments. Even food, water, medical care and infant
access to mothers are routinely denied if deemed to be necessary
for experimental conditions. Law enforcement is notoriously lax,
and ethical decisions are made by industry insiders, often coworkers and friends of the researchers. It has long been proved
that a monkey, or bird can feel the same amount of pain as any
human being, yet we continue to whole-heartedly welcome these
tests, as long as we think it spares us the trouble of having to deal
with horrendous side effects in human patients and consumers.
Do you honestly think this is a humane approach?
I can see why you'd stick to your standpoint, yet we need not
forget that even though there are many similarities to humans
among the more evolved animals of the world that much is
scientifically proven, even similar organisms taken out of their
natural habitat may not react in a reliable, consistent manner
to a drug intended for human use. This problem is only more
significant when considering experiments done on animals like
mice and fish. Just because a certain medication has the
desired effect on mice, for instance, does not mean it can be
neatly translated into human form to achieve the same result
to a much more complicated body. Testing a product on
animals may be a good starting point in certain areas, but its
far from a safe bet to have the same effect on humans it does
on an animal. A sleeping pill tested on animals in the 50s
caused thousands of babies to be born with birth defects,
while a heart pill tested on mice was released to the public
only to cause nearly 30,000 heart attacks. What works on

animals, even animals similar to humans, will not necessarily

work for people. Thus, why must we insist on doing this? Not
only that we do it to no avail whatsoever, but we harm
innocent beings and put humanity at a very high risk
nevertheless.
Despite the use of over 115 million animals in experiments
globally each year, on average only 25 new medicines are
approved annually by the leading drug regulator - a complete
waste as thousands of animals have to be artificially induced
with horrendous diseases such as schizophrenia, cancer, HIV.
Also, should we rely solely on these trials, we may not have
been able to make us of highly efficient drugs nowadays. Think
for instance that chocolate, grapes, or avocados, basic
elements of our nutritional diet, are toxic to dogs. In the same
manner, the aspirin, a largely used, good for anything drug is
toxic to most animals. "The history of cancer research has been
the history of curing cancer in the mouse. We have cured mice
of cancer for decades and it simply didnt work in human
beings." to quote a very famous doctor Klausner, the chief of
the US cancer institute.

- I agree that, perhaps, such a package holiday might, to some extent provide a
less stressful and more relaxed experience. But none of us is ever completely
spared from safety mishaps. Your handbag can get stolen, somebody may attack
you on the street and no hooligan is ever going to begin by asking: do you have
a package tour here? Also, while it's easier to let somebody else make plans for
you and simply lay back and enjoy the ride, it's infinetely more fun to design
your own vacation and decide for yourself what is worth visiting and on what you
can take a raincheck.

- Budget travellers: package holidays are often more focused on the luxuryious
experiences.
- You can always book an organised tour at the destination, so that you are not
completely responsible of the itinerary.
- Freedom of changing the hotel if conditions are not suitable