Do animals die in the course of medical research?
Yes. To develop cures or treatments for illnesses such as genetic disorders, brain and spinal injuries, heart and kidney disease and many others, it is necessary for many of these animals to be put down at the end of the experiments in order to study their tissues. But it is important for us to remember that many thousands of human (and animal) deaths, as well as much unrelieved suffering, would occur if medical cures and treatments were not developed through animal research. For example, 30,000 rhesus monkeys were used to develop the polio vaccine in the 1950’s. The threat of polio has virtually disappeared in North America since then – a great contrast to the more than 35,000 children each year who previously were left permanently crippled from this terrible disease.
