It is necessary for companies to test the products before launching them in the market to ensure the safety of users. They need to satisfy various parameters before the product is actually available for sale. These apply for edible products, beauty products, medicines, and other important things that can cause potential harm. To be able to achieve this, many companies test their products on different animals. Despite massive protests over it, animal product testing has not changed or stopped.
The main reasons for using animals for testing different products are as follows:
- Safety of using the product on humans
- The efficiency of the product
- The liability that may come along with adverse results
- Meet legal requirements and laws of the land
- Test potential or effective hazards
Here is a list of animals on which producst are tested.
Rodents, Mice, And Rats For Animal Product Testing
They are the most preferred animals for product testing. Apart from their behavioral characters, these mice closely resemble the genetic and biological characteristics of humans. Thus, you can find them in the labs of researchers, scientists, and companies.
Non-Human Primates
As scary as it may sound, some countries use non-human primates for product testing. These are the closest relatives for humans and thus have a lot in common with them. So, testing on them helps to get more precise results
The experts test medical products on monkeys, and mostly chimpanzees. This includes vaccines too by researchers and companies. Monitoring their health after the medicine is introduced to them is how they find out how effective or harmful it is for them.
Fish For Animal Product Testing
Two reasons for using fish for testing products are reduced costs of testing and an alternative to using mice, rats, and rodents. Fish is also considered phylogenetically much lower than other animals usually used for testing. There is still very little information on this.
Guinea Pigs
The guinea pigs are tested on for centuries to conduct various tests. Since they belong to the mammal category it is said that they are more useful than other animals when it comes to researching purposes for scientists and researchers.
Pigs For Animal Product Testing
Using pigs for animal product testing has also been in practice for years together. Genetic modifications that have happened to pigs have been one reason. Apart from this, they have larger internal organs, intelligence, and social behavior that resembles humans.
Dogs
The dog is also a preferred animal for testing various products and medicines. The most common animal product testing includes testing of medicines, medical devices, and pesticides, etc.
Conclusion
Despite comprehensive studies, research, and experimentation it is the rats that take the major part in product testing. Lesser known facts still do exist with many different animals.
