Animal Experimentation Essay -- Ethics, Animal Cruelty, Chimpanzees

Two months ago I went to see the film â€Å"Rise of the Planet of Apes† at the theater. This film was about chimpanzees that were exposed to animal research to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Consequently, one of the chimpanzees tested with the Alzheimer’s cure developed an enhanced genetic intelligence that lead to the freedom of the other captive chimpanzees. Although this film was a science fiction movie, during the film, there were scenes that depicted cruelty towards chimpanzees. These scenes made me concerned about how inhumane people are towards research chimpanzees. Even with a sense of ethic, I believe animals should deserve respect and consideration. However, there were some scenes during that movie that also made me think about how animals such as chimpanzees were an essential part of human lives. Chimpanzees in the film were experimented on to find a cure for people with Alzheimer’s disease. This demonstrated that chimpanzees themselves su ffered to promote the welfare of humans. This exemplary movie leads to the question, Should animal experimentation be permitted? This question introduces to the controversy of two arguments whether animal experimentation should be permitted or not. In addition to this question, researcher Jerod M. Loeb, from the article, â€Å"Human vs. Animal Rights: In Defense of Animal Research,† concerns about animals, but cannot hinder to improve medicine or other advance for the welfare of humans. On the other hand, philosopher Tom Reagan, contributing to the book, â€Å"Ill-Gotten Gains,† is against animal experimentation. He argues that conducting experimentation on animals â€Å"exacts the grave moral price of failing to show proper respect for animals’ inherit value, whatever the benefits for the research... ...ntists against the cruelty of animals, often refers to an optimistic step to the advance in scientific knowledge preventing future diseases in humans and animals as well. It is time to put out this grief more than anything to some important subject revolving around the world, â€Å"animal experimentation.† Many might dispute; others might concur to the same idea. In the end, I respect both beliefs; both Loeb and Reagan make powerful arguments to support their beliefs. However, Loeb’s dynamic belief has self-motivated me to believe that animal experimentation should be attempted and should not be hindered. Throughout this journey of disagreements of both sides, animal experimentation has once again demonstrated that can be capable to develop new medicine for the welfare of humans, benefit animals as well, and advance in scientific knowledge to prevent future diseases.