9781422279106

On the other hand, those who conduct and support an- imal testing insist that the animals are treated humanely. Researchers say that they follow federal rules established by Congress in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), first signed into law in 1966, as well as state and local regulations. Research supporters point to the many medical proce- dures, drugs, and products, first tested on animals, that have cured human diseases and saved lives. The California Biomedical Research Association states that nearly every medical breakthrough in the last 100 years has resulted directly from research using animals. Examples include the discovery of insulin to treat diabetes and vaccines to pre- vent polio and hepatitis B. The public and frequently contentious debate over ani- mal testing has persisted for more than a century, not only in the U.S., but in many other countries. Laws have been passed to abolish certain types of animal research and to protect research animals from inhumane treatment. Scien- tists have successfully adopted alternative methods that don’t involve animals. Nonetheless, millions of animals are still subjected to testing, and so the controversy continues.

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