Friday, September 14, 2007

... Not Tested On Animals

OK ... this one has me really confused. Over and over, on personal care products, I see the phrase "We do not test on animals."

I understand there is a very militant and violent faction of animal rights activists who would rather pillage, plunder, vandalize, and destroy animal testing labs. Hell, some of them don't really care if they hurt other people in the process. But the phrase "we do not test on animals" gives me NO comfort as a consumer.

Then how are these products tested to insure their safety? Obviously, the answer is on YOU AND ME! This phrase appears quite prominently on products from Perio-Distributing, Inc. out of Ohio. They are the makers of Barbasol shaving cream. This phrase also appears on products from Alberta-Culver, the makers of TreSemme haircare products and other personal care products, although it appears in the near-microscopic fine print on the bottle.

First, the last I checked, humans were also members of the animal kingdom. Top of the heap, the last I knew.

Secondly, if it comes down to a few lab mice, a rabbit, a dog ... whatever, versus me and my health and welfare ... I choose the former to have products tested on! Lab mice are bred for that specific purpose, so in my mind, there is no harm being done to the overall population of mice. Better a lab mouse than me! And, there are millions of other animals who meet their end daily in animal shelters, unwanted. At least something positive can come out of their demise, as they head over the Rainbow Bridge.

Don't get me wrong. I am definitely an animal lover. But I also like people, and don't think people should be turned into surrogate lab rats to pacify a militant faction of animal rights activists.

And ... face reality, folks ... there are much LARGER issues facing us in society than rather a few lab mice (bred for that purpose) meet their end helping to insure that the products we all use are safe for the marketplace and public consumption. Perhaps if the energy, drive and compassion possessed by the militant animal rights activists were directed towards these other social problems, this would be a much better world to live in.

Just my $0.02 worth ...

Paul

3 comments:

L A Little said...

Yes, I agree with you, and I don't think that human guinea-pigging is a good thing, overall, because it takes advantage of the poor. People desperate for easy money are likely to overlook the long-term ramifications of selling their bodies for laboratory use while still alive.

However, a lot of the animal testing back in the day was done in an egregiously cruel fashion. Too bad there doesn't seem to be a happy medium, whereby rodents and what-not could be used for product testing without being made to suffer.

~*Peace*~

Anonymous said...

so exactly when was the last time a major cosmetic or personal hygiene company stormed into your house and dragged you off to a lab to squirt hair spray in you're eyes? thats what i thought. the products thats are not tested on animal are put through a very strict computer program to come up with an appropriate formula that won't harm people or animals before it ever see's a petri dish in lab. AND the people that the products are tested on are volunteers and are compensated for their time, animals are forced into it for their entire live with no choice in the matter and are tortured instead of compensated. besides who are we to say that these animals deserve to be tortured to death in the name of beauty? and who say's we're the top dog (so to speak) in the animal kingdom, you think it's because we use tools? so do monkies and, we open their skulls and stick electrodes in their brains for fun. because we can communicate? so do dogs, and we cram stuff down their throat to see what happens. because we have great memory? so do rats and mice, and we shock them when they take the wrong turn down a maze that they're running for the first time. i'm not a people hater, i just hate people think they're better then everyone and "everything". do you're research next time you want to go off on a tangent about how animal testing is good.

Unknown said...

Dear "anonymous"

You obviously are one of the rabid animal rights activists that go to extremes to portray testing on animals in the poorest light possible. No one "cuts open the skulls of animals" just to poke around and shock them for fun. Without proper research using animals, our society would be nowhere near its current state. Without proper research using animals would or could we advance medical science.

Yes, mankind is at the top of the heap in the animal kingdom. This is based on our ability to reason, (and yes) use tools, and exert tremendous control over our environment ... for starters.

I AM a medical professional, and I HAVE done my homework. Perhaps you should do yours to discover the TRUE status of animal testing, instead of buying -- hook, line, and sinker -- the emotional, knee jerk reactions of your excessively zealot brethren.

In fact, you must know you are wrong in your actions and perceptions, because you are too much of a chicken shit to even sign your name, opting to use the "Anonymous" reply feature of the blog comments. Certainly, you will notice that I published your comments without editing or otherwise censoring them. I think your comments stand on their own in showing your true character.