ABSTRACT
Animals play an important role in human life as many drugs or medicines that we use today are first tested in animals. Throughout history, scientists have solved many medical problems and developed treatments and cures for diseases by using animals in biomedical research. This chapter discusses the significance of the use of animals in research, animal biotechnology and its significance, animal testing in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. It explains why animal research is important from a historical perspective. The chapter also discusses the commercial aspects of animal biotechnology, animal cloning and transgenic animals. It may appear that animal use in research is only happening in modern times, but one may be surprised to know that the information pertaining to animal testing is found in ancient scripts. The controversy surrounding animal testing dates back to the seventeenth century. There were objections on an ethical basis, contending that the benefit to humans did not justify the harm to animals.
