what if animal testing cured AIDS

i sure that last night on the news.
they said it would take them 10 to 15 years to getit right,does that mean that they will test on those poor mice for 10 to 15 years?!

We could get rid of aids in..what is it, like 100 years if condoms were always used?

maybe if instead of just 'finding a cure' governments could invest in campaigns encouraging education, safe sex and free condoms- then aids wouldnt get passed on that way.

This is an interesting question. Thanks for posing it

One thing I find interesting in the whole argument about animal testing is that an over-reliance on animal testing may in fact mean that we don't look for or find more effective research techniques.

For example: It was only when the cosmetic industries were heavily lobbied by animal protection groups that they invested in finding alternatives to animal tests (even so, the amount invested was small relative to their budget). That research led to non-animal alternatives to the Draize Test (the eye irritancy test where rabbits have chemicals dripped into their eyes). These non-animal alternatives are cheaper and most importantly are more accurate.

I wonder what other advances in scientific research we may have overlooked because research often has such a strong focus on animal testing..?

I also agree that as a culture we seem more focussed on fixing the problems our lifestyles have created than we do on changing our lifestyles to prevent the problems in the first place. Don't they say "Prevention is the best cure"?

And funnily enough, many of the health problems we face are linked to what we eat. (obviously this isn't true of AIDS) We could probably spare many lab animals their suffering in research to cure diet related illnesses simply by eating a few less farm animals. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

This debate reminded me of a website I found last year when I was writing about animal testing for an assignment.

Link: http://www.avert.org/hiv-animal-testing.htm

My personal opinion?  I'm not in the situation where I'm dying and need drugs that have been tested on animals.  But I would probably use those drugs to save my life as those animals have already been killed.  In the case of life and death, I will choose life.  

When it comes to animal testing though, I would want them to stop.  There are a few alternatives (human tissue cultures, computer models, human trials and probably more) that can be used and developed and if they are given a chance I'm sure they'd become the norm.  However, it is cheaper and 'more normal' to just infect and kill thousands of animals.

I also agree with the preventative method, but we would still need something to help those who are currently living with AIDS.  So a 'cure' would still be sought after.

I also found a link for if you want to act: http://www.globalservicecorps.org/site/donate/.  There are different projects that you can donate to; AIDS education, orphanages, veggie patches for AIDS infected people...  All positive ways that you can help that do not involve animal testing.  I have no idea if they are a religious organisation though, for those who are interested.  I didn't have a chance to email them.