We need strict laws to end cruelty to animals and their exploitation

It is wrong for animals to be used in research and in testing the safety of products. [iStockphoto]

For decades, animals have been subjected to cruel treatment.

Kenya is gifted with 25,000 different animal species. 

From work overload to being used as objects of research, animals have borne it all. It is high time animals, wild and domestic, were treated with dignity.

People have different feelings towards animals; some may look at them as companions while others see them as a means of labour, and for advancing medical techniques and testing of cosmetics and other products. No matter how positive individuals perceive animals, the fact remains that animals are being exploited by research facilities and cosmetic companies.

Although humans benefit from successful animal research, the pain, suffering and death of animals are not worth the possible human benefits. Therefore, it is wrong for animals to be used in research and in testing the safety of products.

Animals are subjected to tests that are often painful and reduce their quality of life or cause death.

Experimenters make decisions for them because they cannot vocalise their opinions. Animals also feel pain the same way humans do. Some scream while in pain, just like humans.

When animals are used in toxicity testing, they feel pain which often leads to blindness, paralysis and internal bleeding that result in death. Researchers can test the damage that a product can do on artificial skins instead of hurting animals.

Animals testing should be eliminated because it violates animals’ rights.

The testing of product toxicity on animals is completely unnecessary because there are other alternatives that can be used. Humans cannot justify making life better for themselves by randomly killing animals every year. This must stop

Animals should be treated with love, care and dignity. It is morally wrong to cause animals suffering.

Letter from Cynthia Maende, Rongo.