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llamprou's picture

Why do we always come first?

I think it is extremely interesting that human feel that we have the final say in what in fact humane is. Is it okay to test on animals if we create them? So by not pulling them from the wild, are we able to sleep better at night knowing that millions have died to further our understanding of the natural world. I am a biology major and struggle with the experiments that I have personally conducted using animals quite a bit. I still have not come to peace with the idea that I basically "play god" when selecting which animals are going to be used and which are not. Is it really okay to use animals for research if we are the ones who "created" them? Once they have been created is that not the same as testing on an animal we have just picked out of the wild? Can one really make the argument that animals created inside a laboratory are more disposable than those that are not? I do not believe vegetarians discriminate between wild deer and ranch bred cows? What makes us discriminate in the laboratory then? I know that it is difficult to say no to animal research, when so many cures have already been discovered, so many treatments that would have never been approved by the government without animal testing, but I still cannot help but feel extremely uncomfortable when asked whether or not I "believe" in animal testing. I do not believe in harming anything whether that is a fly (which I used to catch using a class and transport outside) or a dog (I have an Italian Greyhound pup and would never, ever, ever subject her to animal testing). I am amazing with the human race and our ability to create a heirarchy in our minds, always putting us at the top.

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