Disadvantages of animal testing

 

Animal testing to determine the toxicity of chemicals has a long but not entirely scientifically based heritage. For example, the LD50 test of acute toxicity was introduced in 1927 but, although the number of animals required has been reduced over the years, the validity of  such tests to humans remains an unresolved issue. Despite the obvious benefits of tradition and standardisation, in-vivo testing to assess toxicity brings on notable disadvantages:

 

• Economical – animal testing is expensive and subject to regulatory limitations
• Questionable validity – the correlation between animal and human reactions to chemicals has not been completely or unambiguously examined
• Ethical – exposure of animals to painful experiments is ethically questionable and a public-relations liability for industry