Animal testing is bad science and wastes resources, but cutting-edge non-animal research methodologies promise a brighter future for both animal and human health. Social media features common statements that do not support animal testing, followed by arguments against them.
All mammals, including humans, are descended from common ancestors and all have the same set of organs (heart, kidneys, lungs, etc.) and they work basically the same, with the help of blood circulation and the central nervous system. Because animals and humans are so biologically similar, they are susceptible to many of the same conditions and diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Even though they are similar in genetic structure, I still think that animals should not be used in experiments because, besides that, they have many more negative effects on both animals and humans.
According to research in the 1950s sleeping pill thalidomide, which caused 10,000 babies to be born with severe deformities, was tested on animals prior to its commercial release. Later tests on pregnant mice, rats, guinea pigs, cats, and hamsters did not result in birth defects unless the drug was administered at extremely high doses. Animal tests on the arthritis drug Vioxx showed that it had a protective effect on the hearts of mice, yet the drug went on to cause more than 27,000 heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths before being pulled from the market.
Unlike animals used for research, humans are able to give consent to be used in testing and are a viable option when the need arises. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) global pandemic demonstrated that researchers can skip animal testing and go straight to observing how vaccines work in humans. One company working on a COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna Therapeutics, worked on developing a vaccine using new technology: instead of being based on a weakened form of the virus, it was developed using a synthetic copy of the COVID-19 genetic code.
As a result, using animals in experiments is not a correct behavior and it can be made terminated by other methods.