![]() ![]() Instead, they will show the world of vivisection through the animals' eyes - they don't know what's going on, they don't think "oh well, at least the humans will get some good out of this" - all they know is that they're in pain. However, those aimed at a more "grown-up" audience realize that this isn't exactly credible. The scientists will be either totally unconcerned about the animals' welfare or actively revel in tormenting their test subjects. Some children's shows use scientists as insane or even as the Big Bad to show how evil animal testing is. You will probably NOT see: the gorier of the procedures dead animals cosmetic testing very much of the animal subjects themselves (unless the scene is set up to show the scientist caring for them), far less their viewpoint cats, dogs and other cute animals that are kept as pets or that people tend to have an affinity for an animal rights activist with any semblance of sanity.Ĭhildren's shows, or those with a heavy handed or justified animal rights/welfare message to get across, use a different tactic.Rarely, Godwin's Law is invoked on those protesting against it (see below), equating that those who don't support animal testing must support experimentation on humans instead. You will see: The Littlest Cancer Patient, desperate for the laboratory to come up with a miracle cure those who owe their lives to the research in the lab families of seriously ill patients affable scientists dedicated to preserving human life the Animal Wrongs Group, possibly the scientists looking after the animals and a few rats pottering around their cages in some fairly benign experiments.Usually turns up in crime shows, science fiction and occasionally drama. Shows that are pro-animal testing, usually because of an adult/pragmatic/scientific slant to the story, will feature hard-working and crusading scientists on the search for a cure for cancer, hampered by the Animal Wrongs Group. Science Is Bad, and the show's place in the Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism. The portrayal of animal testing in fiction strongly depends on a number of factors: Humans Are the Real Monsters vs. If it does show up, it is almost always exaggerated and even sometimes Played for Laughs, especially since using animals for cosmetics testing is falling out of favor - cultured human cell lines are turning out to be both much more useful and better for PR. Cosmetic testing (using animals to test lipstick, shampoo, mascara etc.) rarely turns up in the media, unless the scientist is a villain in an animal-centric show. Medical testing (using animals to test new drugs and procedures in order to benefit human patients) is probably the most contested minefield, with both staunch supporters and equally determined detractors. Cutting animals open while still alive (vivisection) usually turns up in Free the Frogs plots and sci-fi/horror films, usually involving a degree of moral dilemma. raising a baby animal in total isolation to see how its development is affected). ![]() Behavioral and intelligence experiments, like those of rats in mazes or Pavlov's dog don't tend to raise too many hackles unless physical or psychological trauma is involved (i.e. The actual term can cover a number of things, which raise different dilemmas. The media, however, favor the Black-and-White Morality, so don't expect to see too many shades of grey (it's worth mentioning that they do exist however - see the third group of examples). Most modern laboratories and institutions establish an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee to ensure that all animal testing is done responsibly and with a minimum number of animals used to gather good scientific data. On the other hand, many dogs, cats, rats and other creatures have suffered tremendously and died because of animal experimentation (sometimes for trivial reasons) when there may be better scientific alternatives. Still more are wildly uncomfortable with the practice itself but are forced to acknowledge that if it wasn't for (some) animal testing, many of the people we love would not be alive today making for one heck of a moral quandary. Some wholeheartedly support all animal testing as life saving progress, others wholeheartedly denounce it as cruel and barbaric. Animal testing is one of those sticky subjects that should never be brought up at dinner parties - unless you really like watching your guests squirm or devolve into rage-induced table flipping monsters.
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