Where is animal testing most common

For some areas of disease research, overreliance on animal models may well have delayed medical progress rather than advanced it.

By contrast, many non-animal replacement methods such as cell-based studies, silicon chip biosensors, and computational systems biology models, can provide faster and more human-relevant answers to medical and chemical safety questions that animal experiments cannot match.

British Medical Journal , , Imagine a syringe being forced down your throat to inject a chemical into your stomach, or being restrained and forced to breathe sickening vapours for hours. Share Click to share on Facebook Opens in new window Click to share on Twitter Opens in new window Click to email this to a friend Opens in new window. What is animal testing? Here is a selection of common animal procedures: Forced chemical exposure in toxicity testing, which can include oral force-feeding, forced inhalation, skin or injection into the abdomen, muscle, etc.

Exposure to drugs, chemicals or infectious disease at levels that cause illness, pain and distress, or death Genetic manipulation, e. If animal testing is so unreliable, why does it continue? Are animal experiments needed for medical progress? You can help: Sign the global pledge to Be Cruelty-Free. Take action. Donate to help animals suffering in labs and other cruel situations. Give now. Discover More.

May 31, ; Updated April 5, This information is current. It is updated only when needed. Most animal testing and research is conducted with rats and mice that are bred specifically for research. Perception: Lost or stolen pets are sold to labs.

Fact: Lab animals are bred specifically for research. There is absolutely no evidence to support the claim that dogs and cats are taken from homes and shelters and sold to laboratories. In fact, scientists neither need nor want to conduct research with pets. Perception: There are no laws or regulations to protect lab animals. Fact: The U. Department of Agriculture USDA has set forth federal regulations governing the care and use of animals in biomedical research that are considered more extensive than those covering human research subjects.

In the U. It also requires the use of anesthesia or analgesic drugs for potentially painful procedures and during post- operative care. The U. Animal testing is the practice of using animals as subjects to test the effects of certain substances or compounds before they are used by humans. The practice has been regarded as a form of animal cruelty by animal welfare groups around the world. These groups have been lobbying for years to have animal testing banned, and they have been successful in a few countries which have made it illegal for companies to carry out animal testing.

The European Union, in , passed legislation that instituted a ban on the sale of animal-tested products in the European Union. The law makes it illegal for products whose manufacturers use animal testing in their production, to be sold in European Union markets regardless of the country of origin.