Timeline Description: The use of animals for medical and product testing is a practice that has gone on for many centuries. In the last couple centuries, many people have joined animal advocacy groups to stop animal testing.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 300 | Early animal testing(300-200 BC) Writings of ancient civilizations all document the use of animal testing. These civilizations, led by men like Aristotle and Erasistratus, used live animals to test various medical procedures. |
| 1242 | Animals for medical advancement Using animals to study blood circulation, scientist Ibn al-Nafis was able to theorize about the human blood circulatory system. His theories were eventually proven hundreds of years later by William Harvey. |
| 1660 | Robert Boyle's experiments Robert Boyle was a scientist in the 1660's, and he theorized that living beings needed air to live—something no one knew at the time. Using animals, he tested and proved his theories. |
| 1700's | Advancements in science Scientists like Stephen Hales and Luigi Galvani used animals to prove their scientific theories. Some of the theories proved during the 1700's included animation caused by electricity, respiration as combustion, and blood pressure theories. |
| 1880 | Louis Pasteur's germ theories Louis Pasteur used sheep and anthrax to prove the theory that germs were harmful and what caused illness. He eventually developed the practice of pasteurizing milk, which boiled the milk to kill bacteria and germs. |
| 1800's | Opposition to animal testing arises(Late 1800's) Though others had spoken out against animal testing in the past, many people began standing against it in the latter 1800's. Great Britain passed the Cruelty to Animals Act in 1876. |
| 1901 | Emil von Behring awarded the Nobel Prize von Behring used guinea pigs to test his theories on diphtheria, and he later used the findings to create an immunization for humans. Von Behring was awarded the Nobel Prize for his advancement of medicine. |
| 1920 | Edgar Adrian awarded the Nobel Prize Using a frog, Edgar Adrian proved the way the brain sends signals for communication. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his findings. |
| 1921 | Findings for diabetics Frederick Banting used dogs, and later cows, to experiment with the pancreas and insulin to develop a treatment for diabetes. The treatment was then used successfully in 1922 on a fourteen-year-old patient. |
| 1940's | More medical advancements Using guinea pigs, Corwin Hinshaw found that antibodies found in the soil could help cure tuberculosis. Jonas Salk used monkeys to isolate and vaccinate against the polio virus, which had effected hundreds of thousands of people in the past. |
| 1950's | The use of anesthetics Scientists used rodents, dogs, cats, monkeys, and rabbits to test the use of anesthesia. The introduction of this drug opened up a world of possibilities in the surgery world, and it has allowed for many life-saving operations. |
| 1965 | No more polio Due to Jonas Salk's experiments and the development of the polio vaccine, polio dropped dramatically in the second half of the twentieth century. Today it is almost completely gone in developed countries. |
| 1968 | Heart surgeries in dogs Doctors and scientists used dogs to attempt the replacing of a heart valve. Other studies using animals today include the studying of AIDS and leprosy. |
| 1970's | Depression treatments Using lithium salts in guinea pigs, John Cade set out to find a treatment for depression and other manic conditions. The treatments found that the animals were much calmer while taking the salts, and by 1970 the treatments revolutionized the way people with depression lived. |
| 1996 | Dolly the sheep Science continued using animals for research, in spite of protests. Dolly the sheep was the first cloned animal, coming from an adult sheep cell. |
| 2014 | People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Known as PETA, they are the largest animal advocacy group in the world. While animals may be needed for certain medical and scientific advancements, PETA works to protect animals to the best of their abilities. |