Look Inside the Lab

I wanted to take a break from my broader, more philosophical posts to talk about a serious issue that I am looking to raise awareness about. For the past few months, I've been working on project that was assigned to me which essentially asked students to choose an issue and take an action to help solve it. Initially, I didn't think much of this project and didn't expect to become completely immersed into the issue. However, this changed upon my initial research, and I feel so strongly about this issue that I want to inform my readers.

It's an unfortunate reality that animals are being subjected to inhumane and unnecessary experimentation in research labs, universities and medical schools all around the world. For many taxpayers, their own money is even going to these universities and labs to support this process without them even knowing. Most of these institutions have chosen not to even create a specific policy to prevent cruel treatment of animals and the unnecessary practice of animal experimentation, which means that individuals are left in the dark about what they are doing inside the lab.

I personally believe that imprisoning animals and performing experiments on them is archaic for these well-established and modern universities and institutions. With the plethora of computer programs, modern techniques and advanced technologies available to us currently, it isn't necessary or even helpful for scientists to experiment on animals. Animal testing is not only inhumane, but also quite unreliable compared to advanced non-animal testing methods. Animal testing lacks scientific value and doesn't progress the knowledge of biology and medicine in a way that non-animal methods of experimentation cannot.

For this reason, I feel that we should all stand together and work to get institutions to develop a clear policy that prohibits severe animal suffering in the lab as well as promote non-animal methods of testing. There are a plethora of ways to get involved , whether it means simply signing a pledge to be cruelty-free, signing petitions, informing friends or family about this issue, raising money for a non-for-profit organization or sending letters to your local university or laboratory to express your discontent. The littlest action can make a huge difference and I believe that if we choose to look inside the lab and recognize the atrocities being committed, then we can tackle this problem and bring justice to animals.