More than 100 million animals suffer from animal testing every year.  Even if they do not die, hundreds of thousands of animals are used in painful experiments everyday. The conditions in labs are brutal, and the testing is extremely painful.  In the lab, the animals have no control over what they do.  They can’t decide when they want fresh air, if they get a partner or child, what they eat, or even when the lights go on and off.  The animals are kept in tiny metal cages, as if they are in prison, but the difference is, the animals have committed no crime.  According to animal rights activist, Dr. Jane Goodall, who worked with chimpanzees for decades, “In no lab I have visited have I seen so many chimpanzees exhibit such intense fear. The screaming I heard when chimpanzees were being forced to move toward the dreaded needle in their squeeze cages was, for me, absolutely horrifying.”  Animal testing has been going on for way too long, and it needs to end.There are many others ways to test products without using animals, and some of those could  be even more effective than animal testing.

One way to test products without using animal testing is a method called Organs on Chips.  This is a cell culture chip that simulates the structure and function of real human organs. This method could be used instead of animals in disease research, toxicity testing, and drug testing.  Organs on Chips started to develop in 2009 by the Wyss Institute at Harvard University. After realizing that animal testing could takes years to complete, and that it costs over two billion dollars just to test a single compound, the Wyss institute knew they needed to find a cheaper and more efficient way to accelerate the developments of drugs. Also, Organs on Chips work better than animal testing because animals don’t always simulate the human body accurately.  Organs on chips replicate the body very well, but Harvard is still improving it everyday.

Microdosing is another method of testing that does not harm animals. This technique gives human volunteers the drug they are testing, but on a cellular level, so it does not affect the whole body system.  This method completely bypasses animal testing because it directly goes to humans.  This process was developed around 2008, and although it is not completely finished, it has the potential to be a great substitute for animal testing.

Another strategy to test medicine and drugs is computer models.This is probably the easiest method of testing because it does not use humans or animals.  Because of more advanced technology, computer models can be made of the heart, lungs, and skin and can show human effects.  This technique is all online and saves a ton of money. It is also much easier and faster to use computer models, and while many people think it is not as good as animal testing, it is improving all the time.

In conclusion, there are many ways to test drugs and other products without using animals such as Organs on Chips, microdosing, computer models, and more.  Some of these are even more accurate than animal testing because it shows human reactions as opposed to animal ones.  After over half a century of animal testing, it needs to end.