Eliminating Animal Testing free essay sample

Parker Persuasive Speech Animal Testing Topic: The inhumane use of animals fore testing. Specific purpose: To persuade my audience that animal testing should be eliminated. Central idea: As a citizen of this society, we need to support the elimination of animal testing. Introduction Attention getter: Did you know that, â€Å"About 20 million animals are experimented on and killed annually, three-fourths for medical purposes and the rest to test various products? (Andre and Velasquez, 2010) Credibility material: After thoroughly researching the inhumane use of animals for testing, I found that others needed to be more informed and acknowledge that animal testing needs to be stopped. Relevance to the audience: Most of us grew up using products like shampoo, conditioner, and household cleaning products. It was brought to my attention that we never considered how using these products could have an impact on animals. Being knowledgeable on this topic will enable you help the cause and ra ise awareness to others. We will write a custom essay sample on Eliminating Animal Testing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Preview of speech: Animal testing is a rising and continuous problem. In this speech I will cover what animal testing is and the reasons it is done, the problem with animal testing; and finally, I will provide you with the alternatives that can be used to avoid animal testing. Transition: First, I will discuss the specifics on animal testing, and the reasons for which it is done. Body I. Animal testing refers to the experimentation on animals. A. It can be described as procedures that are done on living animals. Many of these procedures involve a great deal of suffering. It has been said that most of the animals that are experimented on are thrown away or re-used in other experiments. 1. According to the Humane Society International (2013) some of these procedures consist of: forced chemical exposure which can include oral force-feeding, forced breathing, and injections; exposure to drugs, chemicals or infectious disease at levels that cause illness, pain and distress, or death; long periods of physical restraint and deprivation of food and water, and many more. B. The testing of animals is done to help ensure the safety and efficiency of a variety of things. This includes everything from medication to cosmetics. 1. According to the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (2013), animal testing is used for some cosmetics, personal care products, foods and beverages and household cleaning products, certain medications, and local university or hospitals that torment animals in cruel experiments. 2. Animal testing is also, performed to help scientist understand how the human body works. Transition: Let’s move on to some of the reasons it is such a huge problem in our society. * I want you to imagine yourself living inside a locked closet. You have no control over anything in your life, you can’t choose when and what you eat, how you will spend your time. You are being tested on and in physical pain all the time. You cant even decide when the lights go on or off. After a great amount of research, I have found that animal testing limits these animals to this kind of lifestyle. I find it to be is an extremely inhumane and cruel act. A. Animal testing causes both physical pain and psychological distress, and suffering on a great number of creatures that are alive and conscious. 1. The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (2013) state that U. S. law allows animals to be burned, shocked, poisoned, isolated, starved, drowned, addicted to drugs, and brain-damaged. No experiment, no matter how painful or trivial, is prohibited – and pain-killers are not required 2. â€Å"An estimated eight million animals are used in pain inflicting experiments† (Andre and Velasquez, 2010). B. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (2013) also stated that, most of these pointless experiments are financed by the Federal Government using the public’s tax dollars . These precious dollars are being wasted on cruel and irrelevant experiments on animals instead of spending it on relevant human-based research, which will actually help the human race. 2. The fact that these tests only provide a slight understanding of how chemicals behave in the body, and in numerous cases do not accurately predict real-world human reactions proves that they are useless. Tr ansition: Next, I will discuss some of the alternatives that can be used as opposed to animal testing. * There are a numerous amount of alternatives that can be used to prevent esting on animals. A. â€Å"The Pharmagene laboratories have the opportunity to use solely human tissues and sophisticated computer technology to produce drug developments. † (People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals, 2013). 1. â€Å"With the support of molecular biology, biochemistry, and analytical pharmacology, Pharmagene are enabled the opportunity to conduct extensive studies of human genes and how drugs affect those genes† (People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals, 2013). 2. Pharmagene scientists believe this method of using human tissues is more efficient. B. The use of remaining human skin from surgical procedures or donated cadavers can be used to measure the amount of time it takes a chemical to pierce the skin† (People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals, 2013). C. Acc ording to the American Antivivisection Society (2013), the BCOP test method can be used to detect eye irritants. This method uses tissues obtained from slaughterhouses to replace the use of live animals. Transition: Finally, I will address some of the different opinions that others may have. * I know some of you may have doubts whether animal testing is cruel or inhumane. I can assure you it is. There are arguments made in two basic disciplines Science and Philosophy. A. The Pro-Test (2006) Association states that without animal research, medicine, as we know it today wouldnt exist. 1. This statement is untrue. In fact, there have been proven alternatives to prevent animal testing, some I just mentioned, Many scientist even argue they are more efficient and accurate. B. Some may even say, â€Å"they are just animals,† they question whether animals really have the same moral status as humans. 1. According to Santa Clara University (2010), the lives of all creatures, great and small, have value and are worthy of respect. This right to be treated with respect does not depend on ability to reason. a) An example of this may be an insane person. It is apparent that an insane person has a right to be treated with respect. Keep in mind that he or she may not be able to act rationally. Animals are very similar in this case. This proves that since they are in the same position, they should both be treated with respect. A right to be treated with respect should not depend on being a member of a certain species Conclusion Summary statement: I hope my speech today has offered you some insight into the crucial issue of animal testing. We have discussed the specifics of animal testing and the reason it is done. Also, I discussed the problems with animal testing; and the solutions that can be used to prevent it. Audience response statement: My purpose in giving this speech is to persuade you to eliminate the use of animal testing. WOW statement: So I’m going to leave you with this â€Å"Cruelty is one fashion statement we can all do without. † -Rue McClanahan. We can all make a difference. We all have the opportunity to help this cause. Thank you all. References American Anti-Vivisection Society. (2013). Testing Alternatives. Retrieved from: http://www. aavs. org/site/c. bkLTKfOSLhK6E/b. 6457337/k. 71E2/Testing_Alternatives. htm#. UZLouysjr4Q Andre, C. and Velasquez, M. (2010). Of Cures of Creatures Great and Small. Retrieved from: http://www. scu. edu/ethics/publications/iie/v1n3/cures. html Humane Society International. (2013). About Animal Testing. Retrieved from: http://www. hsi. org/ campaigns /end_animal_testing/qa/about. html Pro-Test. (2006). Benefits. Retrieved from: http://www. pro-test. rg. uk/facts. php? lt=c The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. (2013). Animal Testing 101. Retrieved from: http://www. peta. org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/ animal-testing-101. aspx The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. (2013). Alternatives: Testing Without Torture. Retrieved from: http://www. peta. org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/alterna tives-testing-without-torture. aspx The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. (2013). Cruelty to Animals in Laboratories. Retrieved from: http://www. peta. org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/animals-in-laboratories. aspx