To get both sides of the story we sent David out to interview Dr. Anna Bolinder who was the assistant director animal of animal care services from the University of Guelph, we also emailed PETA asking them several questions here is how the interviews went.
Here's how the interview with Dr. Anna Bolinder, assistant director of animal care services went down.
What kind of tests do you perform on animals?
We perform tests that test different chemicals and products on different animals to see what effect it has on them.
What animals are those tests performed on?
These experiments are tested on small animals only at the laboratories such as rats and mice.
Have you made any medical breakthroughs?
We have made many mini discoveries such as finding out that certain brands of toothpaste have chemicals that are extremely bad for you if swallow it. Our stomachs react poorly to these chemicals. But our biggest discovery is finding a medication for depression. We studied a brain of a monkey and found certain compounds of substances make the brain react a certain releasing more serotonin in the body (feel good hormone). For us is it was an incredible breakthrough. One of our senior students had made this discovery after 2 years of research on the monkey brain and the human brain. Currently he is trying to figure out if there are any side effects of the drug before we can get it inspected by the Health Department of Canada. It will be a while before this drug is released to local pharmacies. This is one of those times that a couple monkeys were sacrificed to save many lives of young folks all over the world.
How does it affect the life quality and expectancy of the animals?
The life expectancy differs depending on the type of experiments performed on these animals and as for the quality of the life, their life is not affected if there are no effects but if there are, we have to put them down. It is a small price to pay for the amount of discoveries we have made.
How long do these experiments last?
They can last anywhere from 1 week to 5 years depending on the experiment.
Why do you feel that animal testing is so important?
I feel so deeply about animal testing because it has saved many human lives and thanks to it us humans were able to cure many infections diseases that before cured caused countless deaths.150
Here's how the interview with Dr. Anna Bolinder, assistant director of animal care services went down.
What kind of tests do you perform on animals?
We perform tests that test different chemicals and products on different animals to see what effect it has on them.
What animals are those tests performed on?
These experiments are tested on small animals only at the laboratories such as rats and mice.
Have you made any medical breakthroughs?
We have made many mini discoveries such as finding out that certain brands of toothpaste have chemicals that are extremely bad for you if swallow it. Our stomachs react poorly to these chemicals. But our biggest discovery is finding a medication for depression. We studied a brain of a monkey and found certain compounds of substances make the brain react a certain releasing more serotonin in the body (feel good hormone). For us is it was an incredible breakthrough. One of our senior students had made this discovery after 2 years of research on the monkey brain and the human brain. Currently he is trying to figure out if there are any side effects of the drug before we can get it inspected by the Health Department of Canada. It will be a while before this drug is released to local pharmacies. This is one of those times that a couple monkeys were sacrificed to save many lives of young folks all over the world.
How does it affect the life quality and expectancy of the animals?
The life expectancy differs depending on the type of experiments performed on these animals and as for the quality of the life, their life is not affected if there are no effects but if there are, we have to put them down. It is a small price to pay for the amount of discoveries we have made.
How long do these experiments last?
They can last anywhere from 1 week to 5 years depending on the experiment.
Why do you feel that animal testing is so important?
I feel so deeply about animal testing because it has saved many human lives and thanks to it us humans were able to cure many infections diseases that before cured caused countless deaths.150
We also emailed PETA and asked them some questions this is how they replied.
Why do you feel so strongly about no animal testing?
We feel that an animal’s life is just as important as a humans life. It is wrong to test on animals. We would never test on humans so why test on animals is they have feelings too. Animals shouldn’t go through pain because of our stubborn curiosity as humans. If it wasn’t for us they would be living a different happier life.
How long has PETA been around?
Since 1980.
Do you think there are any times where animal testing is justified?
No. Most of the times when animal testing is proven to work, it fails human testing. We don't understand why people think it is okay to ruin a life because they deem it to be less important. We aren't god so we can't make those decisions.
Why do you feel so strongly about no animal testing?
We feel that an animal’s life is just as important as a humans life. It is wrong to test on animals. We would never test on humans so why test on animals is they have feelings too. Animals shouldn’t go through pain because of our stubborn curiosity as humans. If it wasn’t for us they would be living a different happier life.
How long has PETA been around?
Since 1980.
Do you think there are any times where animal testing is justified?
No. Most of the times when animal testing is proven to work, it fails human testing. We don't understand why people think it is okay to ruin a life because they deem it to be less important. We aren't god so we can't make those decisions.