These experiments, which cause pain and suffering and permanent damage to animals, are sometimes considered necessary for the advancement of medicine, but are often described as inhumane. Although mice and rats are afflicted, many animals are left to die every day besides cats, dogs, hamsters, pigs, rabbits and sheep, suffering for the sake of an experiment.
These animal experiments, where ethical debates continue from past to present, are carried out in extraordinary ways in unimaginable environments and conditions, and they continue to surprise us every day.
The heart, kidney and lungs of dogs are used to study how experimental substances may affect the function of human organs; Mice are used as test subjects to determine whether various chemicals can cause cancer in humans.
Monkeys are often used to study how extreme stress can affect human behavior, and cats are exposed to a variety of chemicals to determine how damaged spinal cords and nerve activity can affect human limb movements.
In addition, while pigs are tested on how humans will respond to pacemakers and dental implants; pregnant rabbits are forced into various chemicals to determine how mothers and babies will be affected if they are exposed to various bacteria and viruses.
Experiments can last for days, months or even years and often cause unbearable suffering for animals.
Vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite and weight, rash, bleeding and respiratory distress are common side effects of animal experiments and can lead to paralysis, heart failure, cancer and death. During these experiments, while various drugs such as painkillers can be given to animals in order to prevent negative effects on them, sometimes drug supplementation is not preferred.
While some animals used for testing are bred for this purpose, they may occasionally be taken from shelters and the wild. While wild animals are often forced to live in cages and boxes, there is no freedom of movement in these environments and many of these spaces are closed.
Although we witness many animal experiments at regular intervals, the “horned mouse” we have witnessed recently is one of the most striking examples of these practices.
By transplanting cells from deer into mice to produce horned mice, scientists aimed to advance modern medicine, heal bone injuries and regrow lost limbs.
Reaching their goal, the researchers first studied the cellular structure of the horn tissue and, after various tests, placed these cells in the heads of mice. Mice started to develop small horns 45 days after this procedure.
Another striking experiment on mice was the production of a “human ear” in the mouse’s dorsal region.
In this experiment, which was carried out with the aim of giving hope to people who were born without ears or who lost their ears as a result of any accident, the ear, which was produced from the cartilage of the human rib, reached a length of 5 cm in about 2 months.
A small sample taken from the human body made it possible to produce ears in the body of a mouse, and scientists stated that nose and ears could be formed in this way.
On the other hand, one macaque monkey had eyelids sewn for the experiment and was taken from its mother the moment it was born.
In addition to the damage to its eyelids, the monkey, which had electronic sonar inserted into its skull, was subjected to a 3-year emotional deprivation experiment. The cub, alone in its cage, was kept wrapped in a towel-covered device with 2 false nipples to fulfill maternal function.
With this experiment, it was aimed to monitor the behavioral and neural development of the puppy. At the end of the experiment, the monkey would be killed and the auditory, visual and motor skill areas in its brain would be examined. The monkey that managed to survive this experiment was sent to a female macaque monkey and was able to survive for 20 years by recovering.
In another experiment, this time monkeys were asked to mentally control a robotic arm attached to them.
In this experiment, which aims to make paralyzed people operate advanced prosthetics with their minds, and in a way to create brain-machine interfaces, two brain implants were transplanted into the hand and arm regions of the monkey’s motor cortex.
These implants caused the motor neurons to be activated, and as a result, the monkey; He could only manipulate his arm with his thoughts to push buttons, turn knobs, and reach for food.
Known to have performed various organ transplants from the 1930s to the 1950s, Dr. Demikhov included dogs in these practices and carried out the “double-headed dog” experiment.
Demikhov, who aimed to separate a dog’s head from its body and transplant it to another dog, first took the head and front legs of a puppy from its body. Since the transplanted dog was a puppy in the first place, the adult dog’s heart was able to pump enough blood.
Two heads in one body could feed separately and touch each other. However, 1 month after this experiment, which was applied to both dogs, the adult dog died and this application was unsuccessful.
A group of researchers, aiming to discover new things by studying ancient bones and fossils of dinosaurs that went extinct about 65 million years ago, tried to create a “chicken that walked like a dinosaur.”
Chickens, like all birds, are descended from a group of dinosaurs known as theapods, so scientists thought that adding an artificial tail to a chicken could change its center of gravity, as well as make it walk like a dinosaur. In the short video prepared by the researchers, it is possible to see the chicken walking just like a dinosaur.
In addition to animal experiments to advance medicine, the number of applications to develop cosmetics and personal care products is undeniably high. At this point, the “Ralph the rabbit” video released last year is one of the best expressions of an animal’s suffering for these experiments.
Consumption habits gain great importance at this point.
As long as we continue to consume the products of brands that test on animals, we continue this torture, even if we are not aware of it. If we replace and maintain our consumption habits with brands that do not test on animals, they may make various attempts to become one of the brands that do not experiment, as the demand for brands that do experiment will decrease.
In order to understand whether a product of any brand has done animal testing, you can look at the “cruelt-free / vegan” emblems on the front or back of these products; to search engines “… is the brand vegan?” can direct the problem, by downloading the “Unexperimented” app, inquiries can be made on this subject.
While animals are tested to find solutions to human ailments and test products, these experiments do not accurately measure how the human body and human diseases respond to drugs, chemicals, or treatments.
Because animals are very different from humans in many ways, and no experiments on animals reach the expected goal 100%. In addition, different alternatives can replace the animals used for testing the products we use in our daily lives, and the damage to these creatures can be minimized.
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