I recently started graduate school studying Social Work, which has been absolutely fantastic and explains my lengthy absence from posting! However, I have noticed one alarming feature of the scholarly research we have been studying. Some of the psychological studies we have read about employ animal testing methods that strike me as alarmingly cruel and have left me feeling very disturbed. As a vegan, I have always been on the fence about medical testing. What if a drug tested on monkeys proved to be an effective cure for AIDS? My gut reaction tells me that, in this case, the ends would justify the means. Of course curing AIDS would be of enough benefit to society to justify animal trials. But with that logic, where do we draw the line? Scientists use animal testing to study plenty of things that are certainly relevant to understanding and improving human quality of life, but at what point are the findings not enough to justify the cruelty to animals? Furthermore, is there a way to make the testing less barbaric without sacrificing safety or efficacy?
A few weeks ago, we read about a study that is still haunting me. This experiment aimed to study brain development related to the neural center for visual processing, and in order to find out how and when the brain learns to interpret visual stimuli, scientists blinded baby kittens by sewing their eyes shut. It hurts me to even type such a sentence. I am absolutely horrified that animals were treated like this in the name of science. The study found that the kittens who were blind during a certain period of infancy were unable to ever learn how to see, even when they were allowed to open their eyes later in life. There is a critical window during which the brain learns how to read visual information coming in through the eyes, and if that window is missed, the animal will never be able to see. Ok, that is very useful information. But does it justify sewing kittens’ eyes shut and permanently blinding them? You know, I really want to say ABSOLUTELY NOT, it was not worth it, but what if there is a child out there who has the ability to see because of information discovered during this study?
As you can see, these issues get into some sticky ethical ground. I’m really not sure what to think. I know we can’t abolish all animal testing, but is it even possible to draw a line between what’s necessary and what’s blatantly cruel? In another study of traumatic brain injury, scientists gave mice brain injuries by dropping weights on their skulls and then tested their levels of depression and anxiety. One way they tested levels of depression was a “swim test,” in which they put the mice in a narrow tube filled with water to see how long they would fight to keep their heads above water before finally going under. The study didn’t indicate if the mice were taken out before they drowned, and this omission led me to believe that more than a few mice didn’t make it. The study ultimately concluded that the data were probably not that useful in understanding depression and anxiety in humans with traumatic brain injury. I think that was the worst part. Why subject all those mice to such terrible experiences just to conclude that it was worthless?
All I can say for sure is that something is definitely wrong with this picture, and I think we need to further investigate and discuss the issue. There is no clear right or wrong standard by which to judge the ethical basis of animal testing, but we can’t just ignore it because it’s a difficult issue. I will also say as a disclaimer that I have heard of certain activists threatening violence against scientists and laboratories known to test on animals, and I find this behavior appalling and antithetical to the mission of protecting all living beings from harm. If you harass and threaten people because of their actions, you’re not a vegan in my opinion. This lifestyle is about exercising compassion for all living beings, humans included.
The link below has some further reading for those who are interested. I’m looking forward to hearing what other people have to say on this issue!
You Are What You Eat 