Hillary Nestor's List: Animal Testing Persuasive Speech

• Ninety-four percent of animal testing is done to determine the safety of cosmetics and household products leaving only 6% for medical research!
• Europe has been phasing out all products related to animal testing since 2002 and they plan to completely ban all products by 2009.
• the U.S. is still home to many companies who continue to legally perform horrible test on animals even though the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission doesn't require animal testing for cosmetics or household products!
• Most of the animals that are used in testing are bred just for testing, but many others come from the pound.
• The LD50 test short for lethal dose, is one of the worst tests that was developed back in 1927 and is still in use today.
• Draize eye-and skin-irritation test, rabbits are immobilized in full-body restraints while a substance is dripped or smeared into their eyes or onto their shaved skin.

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• More than 100 million animals every year suffer and die in cruel chemical, drug, food and cosmetic tests, biology lessons, medical training exercises, and curiosity-driven medical experiments.
• make up more than 95 percent of animals used in experiments—are not covered by even the minimal protections of the Animal Welfare Act and therefore go uncounted.
• Many of these tests are not even required by law, and they often produce inaccurate or misleading results; even if a product harms animals, it can still be marketed to you.
• Each of us can help save animals from suffering and death in experiments by demanding that our alma maters stop experimenting on animals, by buying cruelty-free products, by donating only to charities that don't experiment on animals, by requesting alternatives to animal dissection and by demanding the immediate implementation of humane, effective non-animal tests by government agencies and corporations.

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• The most common test is called the Draize test where products are put  directly into the animals’ eyes and technicians record the effects. 
• The  "Lethal Dose" test measures the amount of a product it takes to kill part of a  group of animals forced to eat it. 

• Most of these barbaric and senseless experiments are funding by the federal government using the public’s tax dollars and by health charities, including the American Cancer Society, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the March of Dimes who are wasting precious dollars on cruel, irrelevant experiments on animals instead of spending the money on promising human-based research.
• Although modern alternative test methods exist, huge multiproduct manufacturers, including Unilever, Clorox, Church & Dwight, Johnson & Johnson, and others, continue to poison and harm animals in tests that aren't even required by law.
• Even if a product has blinded an animal, it can still be marketed to you.
• Monkeys are addicted to drugs and have holes drilled into their skulls, sheep and pigs have their skin burned off and rats have their spinal cords crushed. Tiny mice grow tumors as large as their own bodies, kittens are purposely blinded, and rats are made to suffer seizures.  In archaic medical training courses, pigs and dogs are cut open and killed and cats and ferrets have hard plastic tubes forced down their delicate throats. 
• The best way to stop companies, universities and charities from using animals is to refuse to purchase their products or give them donations and to write and tell them that you won't support them until they stop testing on animals.

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• Animals are suffering right now for things like cosmetics, shampoo and conditioner, cleaners, and other household items.
• there is no law in the U.S. that forbids any animal experiment—no matter how painful or unnecessary

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  PETA was founded in 1980 and is dedicated to establishing and defending the rights of all animals.
• PETA educates policymakers and the public about animal abuse and promotes kind treatment of animals.
• PETA is an international nonprofit charitable organization based in Norfolk,  Virginia, with affiliates worldwide.

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• Draize eye test tests how chemicals effect eyes by placing chemicals one eye of a test rabbit
• Skin corrosion tests use rabbits to test for irreversible damage to skin by different products.
• ears of mice are used in skin sensitization testing, which tests for allergic reactions.
• Rats are used to test the absorption of chemicals in skin absorption tests.
• Acute toxicity uses mice and rats to test what could be caused by chemical exposure by mouth, skin or inhalation
• Dogs are used in repeated dose toxicity, which uses the same methods as acute toxicity but tests for long-term effects.
• Pharmacokinetic/toxicokinetic tests use rats and mice to test toxic substances and the different effects they may have when eaten, inhaled, injected or absorbed.
• Rats and mice are used to test for mutations caused by an agent in mutagenicity testing as well as in the testing of the carcinogenicity of an substance.
• Reproductive toxicity is tested on pregnant rats and rabbits to see how a substance effects the development of the unborn as well as the reproductive organs.
• Hens and rats are used to test how a substance effects the nervous system in neurotoxicity tests.
• Ecotoxicity tests use fish to test the effects of chemicals on the environment.

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