Products have to be tested in order to ensure their safety to humans, animals, and the environment. So, many companies test their products on animals to guarantee their safety, efficiency, and liability, before they release them to the public. 

With this information in mind, it makes you question what is done to the animals that are being tested on. The U.S. law allows animals being used for testing to be burned, shocked, poisoned, isolated, starved, drowned, forced into drug testing, and brain-damaged. Animals in laboratories are kept in isolated cages while going through these horrid acts. These labs force-feed chemicals to animals, conduct repeated surgeries on them, implant wires in their brains, and even crush their spines. 

Now, the United States does not have a law requiring the use of animals for cosmetic or product testing, but manufacturers are encouraged to “employ whatever testing is appropriate and effective for sustaining the safety of their products.” The use of animals for product testing is outdated and clearly a cruel practice. 

Harley Hill, a senior, stated that “I certainly try to make sure that my products are cruelty-free, not only because of my morals, but because the chemical make-up of animals is different than humans, so saying it is safe on animals does not always ensure the safety of humans.” Harley brings up a good point because according to NAVS (National Anti-Vivisection Society), the use of animals for product testing does not ensure that products are safe for humans. 

Fortunately, there are many non-animal testing methods available for ensuring the safety of products. The alternatives include vitro methods, that include sophisticated tests using human cells and tissue, and silico models, which use advanced computer-modeling techniques. These and other non-animal methods can help save more of the animals that are being treated in such cruel ways because no animal is safe from these experiments. A few of the animals being used for these tests include primates, dogs, rats, mice, rabbits, pigs, fish, and cats. 

Although these products need to be tested to ensure their safety, efficiency, and liability, there are more efficient and less cruel ways to go about this. Animals are not meant to just be used for cruel practices that only help benefit us as humans, and each person can help stop this from happening.