Animal testing refers to the use of animals in experiments.

It is estimated that over 150 million vertebrate animals, including mice, rats, birds, fish, rabbits, guinea pigs, farm animals, dogs, cats and non-human primates, are used annually worldwide.

Animals are a soft target for human beings; it is however, not fair to take undue advantage of their helplessness. It should be understood that a monkey or a mouse would experience the same amount of pain that human beings would do, on being made to undergo certain painful procedures. Animals used for testing are often deprived of food, water and sleep. In many cases they are treated cruelly. During the experiments, these rodents are tested for chemical reaction, particularly at sensitive areas such as the eye. It is barbaric because the animals, despite not having a faculty of reasoning, still do feel pain as humans do. In most cases, the rabbits go blind and scream in pain but they are unable to move about because their necks are held by equipment. Even worse than that, these rodents are killed when researchers are not able to conduct experiment on them anymore. Thus, animal testing should be curbed because it dangers the health as well as the lives of the animals. The results obtained from animal testing are used to check whether a particular medicine or cosmetic would have any side-effects on human beings. The body systems of animals are different from those of human beings. Most experiments are conducted on animals which cannot be reliable sources for predicting results on human beings.That makes a distinction between humans and gorillas, rats and rabbits, and animals and plants. Performing tests on animals will not be much of a help because in the end, human reactions to drugs will not necessarily be the same as the observation on animals drug reaction. Even after extensive researches have been done on various animal species, the question still arise, will it work on humans? So basically, these research labs will still have to do tests on humans because the effect may vary. In short, humans will still be the labs guinea pigs after all. So, animal lives should be spared. Rearing animals for the purpose of testing requires a lot of investment on feeding and fulfilling their needs. Animals used for testing require to be fed certain amounts and types of food, depending on what they are being tested for. They require to be provided with shelter for the period for which they are experimented on. Animal testing in general costs more than non-animal testing, since it requires additional lab equipment, such as animal food, cages and needles, and usually takes a lot more time. Animal activists argue that many animals experiments aren't necessary in the first place --- like testing cocaine on monkeys --and don't contribute vital information to the scientific community. In today's world, there are many alternatives to animal testing, which is one logical reason why animal testing should be banned. Tissue culture methods, for example can be used as alternatives to animal testing. Crash test dummies (test devices which mimic humans) have internal sensors, and can be used for experimentation instead of torturing living animals.

Monoclonal antibodies can be created with the help of cultured cells. Tissue engineering techniques can be used for culturing these cells. It is also possible to make a model of the human immune system in order to check whether a particular vaccine is effective or not. Such models are referred to as Modular Immune In Vitro Constructs (MIMIC) The practice of animal testing should be banned, considering that it is harmful from the ethical, environmental as well as the economical point of view. Making use of alternatives that are available for animal experimentation is therefore, a better choice. It is only by means of a responsible and compassionate behavior towards animals that we can be called true 'human' beings. Progress in medicine is essential, but not at the cost of innocent lives. God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages.