Do the Needs of the Many Outweigh the Rights of the Few?: The Ethics of Animal Testing

Animal testing is, as described by Arianna Ferrari, “an intervention on an animal, which causes suffering, harm, and distress, for scientific purposes” (Ferrari 2). Generally, nowadays, animals are used as “disease models”, test subjects and sources of “therapeutic substances”, organs and tissue for human use (Ferrari 2). Among the beneficial advancements developed through animal testing are: penicillin, insulin and the creation of a treatment for tuberculosis (Medical Benefits).