Makeup, shampoo, conditioner, cleaning products, soap, skin products, perfumes, laundry detergent, deodorant, medicine, and etc are all things we take for granted. One thing we never question is how much these things cost for others. When shampoo runs into our eye, we never think about the animal that unwillingly gave theirs.  When Windex drips on our fingers, we never think about what animal’s skin was burned so ours would not be.

Something not very well known throughout society is what happens to animals during animal testing in laboratories. As humans, it is our right to know the truth. Animals are pure and innocent, so why should we make them suffer? Below is a YouTube video, and many websites dealing with the truth about animal cruelty. Warning: some may contain violent and graphic truths.

PETA reveals some horrific truths behind animal testing, “On top of the deprivation, there are the experiments. U.S. law allows animals to be burned, shocked, poisoned, isolated, starved, drowned, addicted to drugs, and brain-damaged. No experiment, no matter how painful or trivial, is prohibited – and pain-killers are not required.  Even when alternatives to the use of animals are available, the law does not require that they be used—and often they aren’t.” PETA then goes on to inform us that “animals are infected with diseases that they would never normally contract, tiny mice grow tumors as large as their own bodies, kittens are purposely blinded, rats are made to suffer seizures, and primates’ skulls are cut open and electrodes are implanted in them. Experimenters force-feed chemicals to animals, conduct repeated surgeries on them, implant wires in their brains, crush their spines, and much more” (PETA).

This is information that we, as the public, do not see while simply scrolling through the web. Chances are, aside from a picture or article once every few years, we may not even come into contact with these truths.

Many people try to justify animal testing by saying things like “I would not mind if it was a rat or snake.” The truth is, all animals are innocent. They do not do things simply for spite or hatred; they only do what is in their nature. No animal deserves the pain and suffering that can occur during animal testing. There are countless horrific examples of this testing and bad treatment of these animals:

At Virginia Commonwealth University, a rabbit was not removed from her cage before it was sent through a cage washing system. Cage washing machines typically reach temperatures of up to 180 degrees. One can hardly imagine the pain and distress she experienced as she was scalded to death. One, of countless other stories, is one published in a scientific journal: rats were placed in a swimming pool one at a time, and then, without any warning, an escape-proof wire net was placed over their body, forcing them underwater for 30 seconds at a time to create an experience of “underwater trauma” (Examples of Severe Animal Suffering in Laboratories). No animal deserves this, rat or not.

Other people try to justify animal testing by saying “we have to have it for medical purposes” or “they’re just animals.”  I believe Professor Charles R. Magel contradicts this best: “Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is: ‘Because the animals are like us.’ Ask the experimenters why it is morally OK to experiment on animals, and the answer is: ‘Because the animals are not like us.’ Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction.”

Interested to know some companies that test on animals? Click here.

“Animal Testing.” Vegan Peace. Web. 21 Jan. 2016. <http://www.veganpeace.com/animal_cruelty/animal_testing.htm>.

“Examples of Severe Animal Suffering in Laboratories.” RSS. Web. 21 Jan. 2016. <http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pain_distress/tips/campus_policy_suffering_examples.html>.

“Cruelty to Animals in Laboratories.” PETA. Web. 21 Jan. 2016. <http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/animals-laboratories/>.