There are many creative animal-related jobs, some requiring artistic backgrounds, and others requiring special expertise or education. But no matter the career, what sets creative animal-related careers apart from the rest is the ability to think outside the box and take a “normal” animal-related job and come up with a way to specialize to the point that you either offer something beyond your competition, or you’re doing something that allows you to tap into both your practical and artistic sides.

For example, while regular veterinary practices are grounded solely in science and medicine, alternative veterinary medicine allows for a more holistic approach and focuses not only on a specific animal, but also on that animal’s lifestyle, and focus not only on the diagnosis, but also on the cause of the illness in question. To specialize in alternative pet medicine requires more study than that required to become a licensed veterinarian, because one must also be well versed in holistic medicine. Alternative medicine veterinarians often use acupuncture and herbs to treat and maintain health in their patients, where traditional veterinary medicine would most likely rely on medication. Most alternative medicine veterinarians focus on diet as both the cause and effect of various illnesses. They also often look to homeopathy to help relieve stress in their patients. Some also employ animal chiropractic as a means to assist in quality of life in the animals they treat. The American Holistic Veterinary Medicine Association and the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy are organizations that offer education and support to those in this field.

Another creative animal-related career is that of the animal behaviorist, who focuses on what animals think and feel in relation to their behavior to create assumptions about animals and their specific behaviors in certain situations. Much like psychologists for people, animal behaviorists must not only understand animals biologically and physiologically, but also often work in research to gain more experience they can then apply to their own work. Animal behaviorists are often employed by rescue organizations to assess the adoptability of specific animals, in zoos and theme parks to determine how captivity affects various animals, or in academia, research, in government or even as animal trainers or consultants. Most animal behaviorists have an educational foundation in biology, microbiology or ecology, with a concentration in applied animal behavior, or a degree in psychology and minor in biology or zoology, or a concentration in animal behavior. The Animal Behavior Society certifies animal behaviorists, and veterinarians can also specialize in animal behavior.

Animal physical therapy is another creative medical avenue, as animal physical therapists focus on surgery and injury recovery and chronic pain and arthritis. This career requires a master’s degree in physical therapy with an emphasis on animals, as well as the passing of a state licensing exam to practice physical therapy.

Animal trainers, which are required to understand animals physically and mentally, can be employed in various industries including television, theme parks, and civil service. Although dog training is the most common career choice in this field, there are also those who focus on training horses, cats, birds, etc., which requires specific breed knowledge and certification for career advancement.

Dog walking/running is a great creative animal-related career choice for someone who is physically fit and enjoys working outside rain or shine, as well as loves dogs. While this job only specifically requires a business license, it’s best to gain experience volunteering at a local shelter to learn the inns and outs of the job. While some dog walkers focus only on the actual walking of the dog, others may go so far as to offer additional services including pet sitting, basic washing and/or grooming, training (if qualified), play time, feeding or administering medications (when necessary).

In the “show” world, there are two creative career choices. The first is a pet handler, who can also find employment in rescue work, bomb or drug sniffing, or police training (all of which require specialized training on the part of the handler). Show animal handlers are often hired by an animal’s owner much like a beauty pageant consultant, to take care of the show animal from start to finish in the hopes of being crowned. Any pet handling career requires extensive breed expertise and animal handling experience. Sometimes, handlers go on to become show judges, who are required to know breed standards of whichever breed(s) they judge, as well as a license from the American Kennel Club.

Those with a knack for making things with their hands might find a successful career in making pet products such as leashes, collars, toys, clothes and beds. And for those with a great eye, pet photography is a creative choice, and requires extensive photography knowledge and experience, as well as an obvious affinity for the subject matter.

Lastly, for those with starts in their eyes, Hollywood is teeming with creative animal-related careers. From animal-related reality shows to educational programming, animal television shows (and films) require people both in front of and behind the camera.

So whether you’re looking for a creative science-based, animal-related career, along the lines of alternative veterinary medicine, animal behavior, or animal physical therapy, or more physically-demanding careers such as training, handling, dog walking/running, or the coveted show title of judge, or the arts-based pet photography or pet product making, there are plenty of creative animal-related career options to choose from.

Animal Experiments

The terms animal testing, animal experimentation, animal research, in vivo testing, and vivisection have similar denotations but different connotations. Literally, “vivisection” means the “cutting up” of a living animal, and historically referred only to experiments that involved the dissection of live animals. The term is now used to refer to any experiment using living animals; for example, the Encyclopedia Britannica defines “vivisection” as: “Operation on a living animal for experimental rather than healing purposes; more broadly, all experimentation on live animals. For others, the word has a pejorative connotation, implying torture, suffering, and death. The word “vivisection” is preferred by those opposed to this research, whereas scientists typically use the term “animal experimentation. (1)

Animal Models

An animal model is a non-human animal that has a disease or injury that is similar to a human condition. These test conditions are often termed as animal models of disease. The use of animal models allows researchers to investigate disease states in ways which would be inaccessible in a human patient, performing procedures on the non-human animal that imply a level of harm that would not be considered ethical to inflict on a human.

In order to serve as a useful model, a modeled disease must be similar in etiology (mechanism of cause) and function to the human equivalent. Animal models are used to learn more about a disease, its diagnosis and its treatment. For instance, behavioral analogues of anxiety or pain in laboratory animals can be used to screen and test new drugs for the treatment of these conditions in humans. (2)

History of Animal Experiments

The earliest references to animal testing are found in the writings of the Greeks in the second and fourth centuries BCE. Aristotle (Arastu) 384-322 BCE and Erasistratus (304-258 BCE) were among the first to perform experiments on living animals. Galen (Jalinoos), dissected pigs and goats, and is known as the “father of vivisection. (3)

Applied Research   

Its aim to solve specific and practical problems compared to pure research. which is legally academic in origin and usually carried out in the pharmaceutical industry or by universities and commercial partnership these are applied may be in early stage in the drug discovery process.(1) In USM animal experiments are the used for validation of Unani drugs for their therapeutic effect and toxicity.

The branches of animal experiments are:

Genetically Modified (GM) research
Drug testing
Disease testing
Product safety test
Weapon research   

 Genetically Modified (GM) research

GM animals are bred every year these animals have genes added, removed or altered in mimic different human disease such as cystic fibrosis, diabetes and asthma.

Drug Testing

New medicine or herbal medicines (e.g. ISM) are first tested on animals and if it causes any harmful side effect, then these are called safety or toxicity test.

Disease Research              

Try to recreate human illness in animals to find out the cause and to study the pathological processes, by using chemical, physical method to produce human like disease condition.

Product Safety

Animals are used in toxicity test that are designed to assess the safety of agriculture house cleaning products and cosmetics.

Weapon Research

Animals are used for weapon testing exposing to poison, chemicals, gases, viruses and other weapon testing.(1) 

Limitations of Animal Experiments

Artificiality of laboratory- induced disease much more common practice of animal experiments. It is produced by chemical or mechanical mean (5) but there are same limitation regarding the animal experimentation due to different anatomical structure and physiological processes and it is not always true that a drug is toxic in animals may be toxic in human or vice versa 

 Difference in Anatomy and Physiology

One of the major obstacle in performing of Animal experiments is because of other species have much more different characteristic with human. In Unani system of medicine, it is clearly mentioned that all species, race, sex, and organ have different level of individual characteristics regarding to the Mizaj (temperament).thus the mystery behind failure of animal experiment can easily solve with the help of basic concepts of USM. As the animates are the ultimate resultant of chemical reaction in series from simple compound. In the process of evolution compounds are formed by the interaction of Arkan (fire, air, water, and earth) were not stable and thus reacted themselves forming more and more complex molecules which leads to emergence of life.(6). In basic fundamentals of USM is that all Mauled-e-Salaasa (zoological, botanical and geological) was formed by Arkan (the basic elements). (7)

As animates ascended the ladder of evolution, the structure become more and more complex and so was their temperament. The most developed organism i.e. man holds a temperament entirely different from all other creatures. In animates, species differ in their structural set up which is determined by their specific genetic profile and so other temperament and every offspring shares the temperament of species to which her parents belongs, moreover, she also remains within confines of the temperamental range of her parents. (6) Because of the greater range of flexibility man’s temperament is considered to be most equable and appropriate and thus termed as Mizaj-e- Ashraf( best of temperament) (6)

Every drug has its own temperament and it acts according to its mizaj. Ancient Unani physicians discussed it very extensively that everything which is introduced in the body it acts in three ways; 8

1)      Fail-Bi-Unsur (with matter)

2)       Fail-Bil-Kaifiyat (with temperament)

3)       Fail-Bil-Johar (with specific substance) (8).

USM temperament of every particular individual, species, race, have their own kind of Mizaj and it is defined as the resultant quality that comes out from interaction amongst the constituents of a compound. Classification of Mizaj can be attributed to temperament, which is of tow type

A. Mizaj Motadil (Equable temperament) which is also of two kind the first is Haqeeqee (Ideal) and Tibbi (Existing). Haqeeqee is nonexistent because the conditions for all participating constituents and qualities will not same in anytime so this kind of temperament is not possible whereas mizaj-e-motadil tibbi component are not perfectly equal in their qualities and quantities yet are much more balanced and beneficial for organism.

B.Mizaj Ghyr Matadil (Inequable temperament) this kind of temperament is found in disease like condition, when body internal environment is unstable by external or internal factors.

      Mizaj-e-muatadil tibbi (existing temperament) 8 in types:

1)      Mizaj-E-Muatadil Nau’vi Bil Qiyas Ellal Kharij (Equable temperament of species as whole).

2)      Mizaj-E-Muatadil Nau’vi Bil Qiyas Ellal Dakhil (Most equable temperament of a member species).

3)      Mizaj-E-Muatadil Sinfi Bil Qiyas Ellal Kharij (Equable temperament of race).

4)      Mizaj-E-Muatadi Sinfi Bil Qiyas Ellal Dakhil (Equable temperament of member of a race).

5)      Mizaj-E-Muatadil Shakhsi Bil Qiyas Ellal Kharij (Equable temperament of an individual as whole).

6)      Mizaj-E-Muatadil Shakhsi Bil Qiyas Ellal Dakhil (Equable temperament of an individual during youth).

7)      Mizaj-E-Muatadil Uzwi Bil Qiyas Ellal Kharij (Equable temperament of an organ).

8)      Mizaj-E-Muatadil Uzwi Bil Qiyas Ellal Dakhil (Equable temperament of an organ in physiological state).(8)

So when a disease or therapeutically active substance introduced in creature it will vary due to different kind of Mizaj.(7) that’s why the failure rate is very much high in the field of medicine.

Anatomical difference between human and animal play a significant role in animal experiments. e.g. if we compare the neuroanatomy of human cortex, which has 10x the surface then the rhesus monkey(9) and with encephlization factors, the human is much ahead of any other species of earth.(10). Some of the historical evidences showing that there is no co-relation between etiology and pathology. e.g. correlation between cigarette smoking and lung cancer had already been shown in human patients by 1963, experiments failed to produce lung cancer in animals (11) and also failure rate of animal experiments was reported that number of treatment effective in animal stroke models were more than 700 and number of these treatment tested in human clinical trials was more than 150 and number of these that have proved effective for human were surprisingly zero. (12)

In Unani system of medicine, there are so many evidence based trials, which have been conducted by various Hakims, known as Mujarrb (clinically experimented). It can be used directly in clinical trials, in spite of conducting animal experimentation for validation, as many ancient physicians mentioned it in their books. e.g. Sheikh described, “I have written all compound drugs (Qarabadeen) in the 5th volume of this book (Al-Qanoon) which are experimented (Tajarba) in various diseases”.(13) The other major problem occurs in USM is that the drug are used in single and compound formulation, which is too bulky and very difficult to feed animals especially small animal. So for the convenience, the drugs are extracted in various solvent, but there is no such evidence that extracts of herbal drugs in any solvent possesses complete constituent of drug.      

Alternative to Animal Experimentation

Computer modeling

Epidemiological survey

Human Cell and tissue culture

Clinical trials

Conclusion

Animal experiments had enlightened the field of medicine by its contribution but when current trends have shown that animal experiment fail to express the complete desired result. When animal experiments are conducted in ISM, it is very important that these systems should re-look their philosophy for new drug discovery, validation of their drugs and alternative of animal experiments. But regarding to toxicological study animal experiment better option for alternative system of medicine and for this purpose it should be conducted for safety and efficacy of drug.

Reference

Animal  Model; (2/02/2009) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_model
Animal Testing; (2/01/ 2009) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_testing
History of Nonhuman Animal Research; http://www.lpag.org/layperson/ layperson. Html#1
History of Herbal Traditions; http://www.indianherbs.org/ayurveda.ht
Robert A. turner; (1995); Screening in Pharmacology, vol.I, Academic press, New York
Zaidi I.H, Zulkifle. M, Ahmed S. Naseer (1999); Teperamentology Department of kulliyat AMU, Aligarh, 4-10
Hamdani H. Kamaluddine; (1998) Usool-e-Tibb, Qumi council bari faogh Urdu, Delhi, 43
Ibn Sena (1930) Kullyat Qanoon, vol. I Munshi Naval Kishor Publication ,Lucknow
Akhtar Aysha MD; httpwww.pcrm.org DoctorsForumold344,12,Ethical Concerns with Animal Experiments

10.  Evolution of the Brain and Behavior, http://www.sinauer.com/detail.php?id=7059

11.  Animal testing a placebo for conscience; http://www.dur.ac.uk /animal. Rights/vivisection/ 256,1,ANIMAL TESTING

12.  Macleod, MR; (2006)1,026 Experimental treatments in acute stroke, Annals of Neurology, Volume 59 Issue 3

13.  Bin Sean (1998); Al-Anon Fill Tabb, Mushy Naval Kosher Publication , Lucknow

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