"Poem to my Litter" by Max Ritvo. An Analysis about Laboratory Mice and their Misuse (PDF)

Essay from the year 2018 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 2,3, University of Frankfurt (Main), language: English, abstract: Nowadays experimenting with and especially on animals seems to be the norm not everyone likes to discuss about: Animals like mice, dogs, cats, monkeys, fish, guinea pigs and rats are used in laboratories to develop general biological and anatomical knowledge, verify chemical substances, test make up products (outside Germany), or even test new medicines and drugs to calculate the consequences for human beings, who have a similar DNA structure. The used animals differ from their free relatives as laboratory rodents are bred to have the characteristics they need to serve society and fulfill their morally questionable purpose. Three million laboratory animals have to die yearly as a consequence of experiments in Germany. The number is far less then the number of slaughtered animals, who die for the meat production. In 2015 1.2 million people demonstrated in front of the EU Parliament; not to intensify the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act but to finally stop experimenting on animals. In other countries of the world, for example the USA, well-known organizations like PETA fight to stop animal-testing.