Most of us can agree that animal testing is usually a barbaric practices. We see smoking monkeys, rats with ears growing out of their backs, and guinea pigs injected with more hormones than a teenage boy. But did you know that the companies who test on animals also use dogs?
Beagles are notoriously mild-mannered, food motivated, and tolerant of poking and prodding. This is the reason they make such wonderful family dogs. Unfortunately, it is also the reason Beagles are so often selected and bred for animal testing. Their willingness to accept their fate for a dog biscuit makes them ideal candidates for abuse in the name of science.
There are facilities whose only purpose is to breed animals for scientific or medical testing, and Beagles are a choice breed for this purpose. Typically, an animal used for testing never sees the light of day. They are moved from the breeding facility to the testing facility inside opaque creates and are given treatments, foods, injections, or even operations as early as puppyhood. These Beagles do not get the love and attention that all dogs so desperately need. Instead, they are treated as large lab rats and kept locked up for the duration of their short, miserable lives.
The range of testing on Beagles is vast. Often times this research is something deemed necessary by the medical community, which is harder to protest. Experimental surgeries have been performed on many Beagles in the name of human health and the future of it. Besides these surgeries, questionable food products being evaluated by the FDA are often fed to Beagles to gauge their safety. Cleaning chemicals, perfumes, and pharmaceudicals are all also tested on Beagles. Some are applied topically, added to the food, squirted in the eyes, or even injected into the bloodstream.
Besides the cruelty of the tests themselves, animal rights activists have spent years trying to shut down various animal testing facilities. They have acquired documentation in the form of testimony of former employees and video of animals being abused in these facilities beyond the testing itself. These animals are left to whither in cages not even large enough for them to stand in. Video has surfaced of testing facility employees physically abusing these dogs when there is no logical reason for it.
The unfortunate side of this coin is that animal testing has led to many breakthroughs in human and veterinary medicine. Without animal testing, many diseases and ailments thus far would never have been cured or even made treatable. While the Beagle's unwilling participation in these horrific tests seems to be little more than cruel and unusual punishment, the more ethical side of animal testing has made great strides in medicine and health, for animals and people alike.
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