IELTS Essay Practice 005 : Animal Testing I'm practicing writing IELTS essays. Please help me refine my expressions, or share your thoughts about the topic. Thanks. +++++++++++++++++++++ Nowadays animal experiments are widely used to develop new medicines and to test the safety of other products. Some people argue that these experiments should be banned because it is morally wrong to cause animals to suffer, while others are in favor of them because of their benefits to humanity. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. +++++++++++++++++++++ While their benefits to humanity are undeniable, the morality of animal experiments is never without controversy. In my opinion, animal experiments are not necessarily immoral, and even they are, they may be a necessary evil until equally effective alternatives are developed. First, there is no absolute morality, and our ethical standards are always context-dependent. One who kills innocents is called a murderer, but one who kills invaders is called a patriot. Likewise, animal testing itself is amoral, neither moral nor immoral, without the context provided. The opponents against animal testing accuse scientists of being inhumane for the suffering they inflict on laboratory mice. But they have ignored, deliberately or unintentionally, the fact that human patients may suffer more without proper tests on drugs developed. Scientists don’t inflict pain for pleasure. Instead, they do it for a greater good of humanity, and the lives saved can reasonably justify the suffering caused. Second, even though we admit that it is immoral to subject lab animals to traumas, a ban on animal experiments is not feasible at present. Though in many countries, animal experiments for non-medical products are restricted or even forbidden, randomized and double-blind clinical trials are still a must to measure the effectiveness of new medicines and, more importantly, figure out possible risks and side effects. Without these trials on animals or even on human patients, it is irresponsible for any medication to reach the market. As long as no alternatives can take their place, animal experiments, whether moral or not, have to be perpetuated. In conclusion, though people have an outstanding dispute over the morality of animal experiments, as a necessity for scientific research and medicine development, in no way can they be banned or replaced for now.