Can you share the worst - known bad animal testing stories?

One of the worst animal testing stories involves the Draize eye test. In this test, substances are directly put into the eyes of rabbits. Rabbits' eyes are very sensitive, and they endure extreme pain, redness, and swelling. It's a cruel practice that often causes long - term damage or even blindness to the poor animals.

Sure. Heart transplants are one such success. Early research on animals like dogs paved the way for human heart transplant surgeries. Scientists learned about the immune response, rejection issues, and surgical techniques through animal testing.

The thalidomide tragedy is a well - known case related to animal testing gone wrong. Although thalidomide was tested on animals and seemed safe, it had devastating effects on humans, causing severe birth defects. This shows that animal testing is not always a reliable indicator and that the animals that were used in the initial tests suffered for no real gain. Many pregnant animals were likely used in these tests, and they endured unknown harm during the process.

There was a case where monkeys were used in neurological experiments. They were often restrained in small cages for long periods before the tests. During the actual experiments, invasive procedures were carried out on their brains. These monkeys showed signs of distress like self - harming behaviors, but the tests continued. This shows how inhumane some animal testing can be.

In the research of vaccines, animal testing often plays a vital role. For example, in the development of the polio vaccine. Mice and monkeys were used for testing. Scientists could observe how the vaccine affected the animals' immune systems, and based on that, they made improvements. Without animal testing in this case, it would have been much more difficult to develop a safe and effective vaccine for humans.

One short story could be about a group of scientists testing a new drug on mice. The mice were divided into two groups. One received the drug while the other got a placebo. After a few weeks, the mice on the drug showed significant improvement in a certain health condition, which led to further research on the drug for potential human use.

The LD50 (lethal dose 50) test is also controversial. It involves determining the dose of a substance that will kill 50% of the test animals, often rats or mice. This test is seen as cruel as it often involves giving high and harmful doses of substances to the animals just to find this lethal dose. Some argue that with modern technology and computer models, this type of test could be replaced.

Yes. There are cases where dogs are involved in pre - clinical trials in a positive way. For example, in the development of a new drug for a rare genetic disorder. The dogs that were used in the testing were given the best possible care. Their living conditions were excellent, and the testing was carefully monitored. The data obtained from these tests on dogs was crucial in making the drug safe and effective for human trials. So, this is a positive story where dogs contributed to medical progress without being subjected to undue harm.

A particularly shocking one is when some medical experiments on monkeys led to the monkeys suffering from extreme psychological distress. They started self - harming and showing abnormal and violent behaviors that were not anticipated. The researchers thought they could control the situation but it got out of hand.

In the field of ophthalmology, there was a famous monkey testing story. Scientists were developing a new treatment for a type of blindness. Monkeys were used as their eyes have some similarities to human eyes. The testing involved injecting a new substance into the eyes of the monkeys and then observing for any improvement in vision. The monkeys were trained to perform certain visual tasks before and after the treatment. This testing provided valuable data on the safety and efficacy of the treatment, but also led to a debate on whether the benefits outweighed the harm done to the monkeys during the testing process.