Animal research Animals are currently tested all over the world. They are tested for things like cosmetics, prescription drugs, and used for scientific testing. It is estimated that over 100 million animals are used for testing. Rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits and monkeys are common animals used to test newly developed products. These testing procedures and the conditions in which these animals must live are widely scrutinized by animal rights activists. There are many heated debates about whether or not animals should be used for testing. Current government regulations require that all new production available for human consumption undergo animal testing. New procedures for animal testing are needed to allow researchers to meet government regulations and please animal activists. Animal research should be ended because it is wrong to assume that animals do not experience pain or distress when enduring needles, pain, disease and death. A common misconception about animal testing is that animals are genetically similar to humans. Many animals are different from humans, so animal testing does not always benefit the lives of humans. Dr. Richard Klausner, former director of the National Cancer Institute, said, "we've cured mice of cancer for decades, and it just hasn't worked in humans" (qtd in Thompson para. 5). Animal testing does not benefit humans if the animals used are genetically different. The diseases and illnesses that have been mimicked in laboratory animals are not the same as the diseases that occur naturally in humans. “Diseases artificially induced in laboratory animals are never identical to those that occur naturally in humans” (Thompson par. 4). Animal experiments... middle of paper... are very unlikely to do what animal rights activists say and treat animals with respect and compassion. Animals used for experimentation are still tortured, experimented on and killed today. The lives of research animals lie in the hope that animal rights activists will put an end to animal research. Because animals are different from humans, experimenters waste time and hurt animals only to find little that works on humans. Animal research is an inhumane way of trying to improve medical research. There are other alternatives to animal testing that could save millions of animals from testing and killing. Researchers must eliminate the use of animals in research. People should defend animals that are abused and slaughtered. All living creatures should be valued equally, whether human or animal.