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In April 2021, The Humane Society of the United States uploaded a documentary short film entitled, “Save Ralph”. The video instantly went viral, as it used the character Ralph, a rabbit who has endured several injuries in his work, to bring attention to the atrocities of animal testing.
Ralph works in a lab as a tester, made to try out various products to check whether they are safe for us, humans. With over 14 million views on YouTube, the documentary sparked a global animal rights movement, increasing demand for cruelty-free products.
Photo from Humane Society of the United States
Over the years, animal testing has become a controversial matter. Many industries consider animals to be disposable assets that may be used to move past constraints. There is no question that these corporations are exploiting these helpless animals for their own gain, and any justification is simply a ploy to hide the fact that they are required to do so "by law."
Consider yourself a pet owner. In general, pet owners form intimate bonds with their fur babies; some even see them as best friends or family members. Many households possess or desire to own a pet dog or cat, and those who don't, have friends or family members who do. Animals, like us, go through a variety of emotions.
They are capable of love, joy, despair, and loss, but most importantly, it is important to know that they, too, are capable of suffering. Most animals require some type of interaction, whether from a person or another animal, in order to live their lives to the fullest. They require fresh air, exercise, and comfort in the same way that people do.
Photo from Pexels
However, animals exploited in research are frequently subjected to operations that cause excruciating pain and suffering, such as being put underwater for lengthy periods of time without warning or being infected with diseases that are allowed to proceed too far before they are mercifully killed.
Some research institutes pay minimal attention to the care and wellbeing of test subjects, which can result in upsetting situations like animals breaking their legs on cages or being scalded to death in terrible accidents.
Moreover, animals are not people! No matter how much pet owners enjoy humanizing their pets or how much we appreciate the cleverness of elephants, whales, dolphins, and monkeys, it is an undeniable reality that we are extremely different and that our bodies and minds operate differently.
Photo from Pixabay
It's important to remember that approximately 90% of all drugs tested in animals fail to pass clinical trials. We are too different from them, which makes animals inappropriate testing subjects for chemicals suitable for human use.
According to animal testing statistics, there are an estimated 22 million research animals in American laboratories at any given time, yet only around 1 million are protected by animal welfare regulations. Furthermore, there are around 192 million research animals worldwide. Given this information, it's worth noting that over 30% of animal trials cause moderate-to-severe pain, and that over 98% of pharmaceuticals tested on animals are never sold commercially.
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
In relation to this, one must understand that animal testing results simply do not correlate well to humans. Though animals have been utilized to evaluate a wide range of human diseases, these illnesses, however, still continue to destroy the human population, bringing suffering wherever they arise.
Unfortunately, many of these diseases are also diseases that many animals suffer from and that may have been prevented. This demonstrates that animal testing is insufficiently reflective of human examinations.
Luckily, as a result of technological advancements in recent years, animal testing has become obsolete. Drug responses may now be studied in vitro using human cell cultures. This method is both less costly and more accurate than animal testing since it demonstrates how a medicine interacts with human cells rather than animal cells.
Photo from Pexels
There have also been advancements in the field of cosmetics testing. Rabbits have been used to determine whether a material is hazardous to human skin for many years. However, rabbits were not an appropriate replacement for people, yet they were subjected to these brutal trials anyway.
In the Philippines, according to a research commissioned by the Humane Society International, 93% of Filipinos and an average of 87% of individuals across the ASEAN region support a ban on animal testing for cosmetics.
Locally-developed startup beauty companies are making significant efforts to make their products more socially responsible. These cruelty-free companies are preventing hundreds of rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, and hamsters from hazardous experiments.
Photo from Humane Society International
As animal advocates, we must stand firm and make our voices heard, warning these businesses that animal cruelty will never be acceptable and that they must start to shift their practices. As consumers, we should educate ourselves and others on the dangers of animal testing. No animal's life is worth any medicine or product, no matter how healthy we may become or how beautiful our skin becomes as a result of it.
Be an animal defender. Sign the Humane Society International’s petition. Add your name to show your support for the ASEAN region to become the next major cruelty-free cosmetic zone. https://bit.ly/3cir5cV
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