Although there are various references to animal testing prior to the nineteenth century, these are not well documented. The first major reference to animal testing occurred in the late nineteenth century when Louis Pasteur administered anthrax to sheep and showed the importance of vaccines with his germ theory. Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory in the mid 1850s also served to suggest that animals could serve as effective models to facilitate biological understanding in humans. Other cases of animal testing include psychological experiments such as the one by Ivan Pavlov in the late nineteenth century. He conducted experiments on dogs to demonstrate how dogs could be conditioned with regards to memory and repetitive tasks.
Today's scientists are developing innovative methods to replace these historical practices, which you can explore in detail using our free Alternatives to Animal Testing Explorer.
Animal Testing Breakthroughs
An enormous breakthrough came in 1922 when animal testing allowed for insulin to be isolated from dogs. Prior to this isolation, individuals with diabetes essentially 'wasted' away from the metabolic effects of uncontrolled high blood sugar. In the 1930s, modern anaesthetics and antibiotics were developed from the use of animal testing. In addition, anticoagulants and kidney dialysis, both life-saving treatments, were introduced following animal testing.
Continued Use of Animal Testing
It was also during this time that primate labs were set up. The 1950s saw animal testing aiding in the development of vaccines. The other developments related to animal testing that occurred throughout the rest of the century are too numerous to describe but include many potent cancer drugs as well as drugs for HIV that were developed in the latter quarter of the twentieth century. Also notorious was the cloning of Dolly the sheep in 1996. This cloning did, however, still bring much debate with it due to ethical dilemmas surrounding cloning. Animal testing peaked mostly during the 1980s and has since been on the decline. The decline is primarily due to increased regulations that make it more difficult to gain approval for animal testing. Another reason for the decline is from the introduction of animal testing alternatives where appropriate.
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Britain's input into animal testing began quite early, with the Cruelty to Animals Act introduced in 1876, which was an attempt to regulate animal testing. Later, the Animals Scientific Procedures Act replaced it in 1986. There was still an earlier act although not specific to animal experimentation in general. Britain passed the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act in 1822 to prevent cruel and unnecessary treatment of cattle. Although not specific to animal testing, it did still signify the acknowledgment of animal cruelty and was an initial attempt to place parameters and consequences around poor treatment of animals.
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Animal Testing on Cosmetics
Animal testing on cosmetics is still a relatively new concept, given that this type of testing only began in the first quarter of the twentieth century. After an incident where a woman's personal use of a mascara darkener went awry, leaving her with burning eyes and ultimately - blindness - the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) passed the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act in 1938. Britain similarly conducted animal testing for cosmetics until outlawing all cosmetics related animal testing in 1998. The European Union has followed suit with an intended ban on animal testing for cosmetics to be performed by 2009. In the United States, Revlon and Avon were two of the first large companies to halt all cosmetics testing on animals. Some critics, however, have argued that the key ingredients in cosmetics formulations have already been tested on animals. Therefore, their safety is well established, which means that it's 'easier' for companies to find alternatives to test product formulations because most active ingredients have already been approved.
Moving Ahead
The timeline of animal testing clearly shows the scarce beginnings that soon increased, with a peak in the 1980s before declining until the current time. It is likely that the use of animals will either decrease or - at the very least - stabilise as alternatives are developed to animal testing. It is also expected that animal testing will yield additional breakthrough drugs, which offer improved quality of life and hope for people with some of the most devastating diseases today.
Unless you can think of a damn good reason to keep hurting and killing innocent animals, I think we're done here. :(
For those against animal testing, would you volunteer to be injected with a disease, that may kill you, so scientists can search for a cure?
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