By Konno Hiroaki

　　　The number of experimental animals in the world now amounts to 200 million; and Japanﾕs share of this total numbers 20 million. It is a fact that our living standard is getting higher than ever thanks to the remarkable development of science technology and medical technology, but the dark side (of this advance) is that it often depends on the cruelty of animal testing. Although animal testing cannot be described in a word because of itﾕs many cases and varieties, one particular test that relates closely to our lives is the test for poisons contained in newly developed cosmetics, while the category of specialized fields includes genetic engineering and the examination of the structure of brains and internal organs. The animals used in these experiments every day are forcibly killed, and are finally thrown into the trash box.

Most of the animals used in such experiments are guinea pigs, rats, rabbits, dogs, cats and monkeys. An experiment that uses rabbits is one that stimulates the pupil. Chemical products (found in shampoos) are dripped into a single eye and later the effects of the poison are compared between that and the undamaged eye. A test that uses rats and rabbits is the U.V. (ultra violet) test. Their skins are exposed to ultra violet rays and the effects are examined. Cats and dogs are used to test the effects of acute poisoning. They are fed with chemical products and the lethal does is measured. Such tests as these are small examples taken from among hundreds of cases. After the tests, experimental animals either die or are killed and dissected. It is impossible for them to survive after the tests. Since they are bred as experimental animals, their destinies never change.

Here is one Japanese cosmetics makerﾕs reply to the question about conducting animal tests. ﾒWe donﾕt carry out tests on animals except in unavoidable cases: the percentage is only 0.3 %ﾓ. It is clear that they are sacrificing animals just for the tests. The number of animals equivalent to the 0.3 % amounts to 20 million every year. This is a huge number even if the percentage is very low. They do not stop to think how high the number is. The shocking fact is that Japanese companies do such things.

One of the reasons why animals have to endure such treatment is that, unlike other advanced nations, Japan has not enacted any laws concerning animal testing. There are no regulations, the recording of tests. The Animal Protection Law cannot include the matter of animal testing because of the concern for business profits that the companies are chasing.

Nevertheless, in the case of the USA, too, despite the limits imposed on the treatment of animals, the Animal Welfare Act does not apply to mice, rats and birds because they are not classified as animals. Since the Americans are more given to engaging in lawsuits than other people, American companies have to ensure that their products are in a perfect state. If they need animals for testing, they use them. It is a fact that all advanced nations use animals for testing whether or not a law has been enacted to prevent it. One more reason for the continuation of animal testing is our lack of knowledge and consciousness about it. Yet we cannot acquire any information about it from the media because of the strong co-operation that exists between the companies and the media. It is therefore impossible for us to eradicate animal testing or reduce its prevent dimensions.

There is one thing, though, that we ought to reconsider. No experimental animal has the right of a true animal. The guinea pig, the rat and the rabbit are raised mainly just for the purpose of the tests. It is a matter of concern whether they ought to be regarded as animals or just as experimental materials. Animal factories are a similar instance. Today is a time of mass consumption, and stock raising is no exception. This fact has compelled us to engage in the mass production of animals for our foods. The most important consideration in the animal factory is not an animalﾕs right but how to raise animals so that they should be fertile and breed quickly. One more example: an American neurologist who dissects many monkeys for the purpose of understanding the workings of the brain, says ﾒAnimal testing is an unavoidable thing for us. Our achievements contribute to human life itselfﾓ. Which should we place higher in our scale of values ﾐ animal protection or the pursuit of truth ﾐ one or the other, or both? Of course, to kill monkeys merely for study is questionable. But who can have the right to stop the scientistﾕs pursuit of truth?

The issue of animal testing rests, in the end, on various peopleﾕs sense of values and ethics. But what cannot be contested in the complex situation is the waste of animals. There is no good point in killing animals who have the right to breathe. It is possible for us to be engaged in the creating of new methods for tests instead of using animals. The most serious problem we have to consider is the true value of experimental animals. Should they be able to escape from the experimental situation or be thought of simply as experimental material? At this point, it is impossible for us to judge whether animal testing is a vice or virtue. But if we ourselves have the right to breathe, we must reconsider the problem.