About Animal Testing
Animal tests developed under crisis conditions. For example, the Draize eye test developed after a 38- year-old woman had gone blind prior to dyeing her eyelashes with Lash-Lure, a product that contained a derivative of coal tar (Abbot).
Why Animal Testing Developed:
Facts About Animal Testing:
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Around 20 million animals are used in labs per year and most of them are sacrificed during the experiment or left extremely impaired (Newman).
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Today, 80% of the 20 million lab animals used annually are rats and mice (Newman).
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Up to 90% of animals used in U.S. labs are not counted in the official statistics of animals tested (PETA).
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92% of experimental drugs that are safe and effective in animals fail in human clinical trials because they are too dangerous or don’t work (PETA).
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When used in cosmetic tests, mice, rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs are often subjected to skin and eye irritation tests where chemicals are rubbed on shaved skin or dripped into the eyes without any pain relief (PETA).
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"Alternative” tests achieve one or more of the “3 R’s:”
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Replaces a procedure that uses animals with a procedure that doesn’t
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Reduces the number of animals used in a procedure
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Refines a procedure to alleviate or minimize potential animal pain
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The two most common "product saftey" animal tests
The Draize Eye Irritancy Test
The Draize eye irritancy test is where substances are rubbed on or dropped into the eyes of rabbits that have been forcibly held down to prevent movement. After, the rabbit’s eyelids are held shut for 3 to 21 days and the damage on the eyes is observed and recorded.
Unlike a human’s eye, a rabbit’s eye does not have tear ducts and, due to this, the animal cannot flush out the substance that is harming it. This shows that the rabbit eye does not mimic the human eye but, despite this fact, humans still put the animals through this test to obtain results that are only 50 percent accurate.
The LD50 Test
(Lethal Dose In 50 Percent)
During the LD50 test, 20 to 100 animals, such as mice, are force-fed a test substance to determine toxicity levels, and the test is complete when half of the members of the group are dead. However, before the test concludes, the mice can also experience diarrhea, organ rupture and internal bleeding.
Rabbits being forcibly held down