Max Surprises the Audience

Devon was restless, not because of the debate itself but because of the part Max had to argue. She had always noticed his lack of interest in school topics, which made her doubt if her friend had the qualities needed to do a good job.

"Finish them off."

"Got it."

Max was up next after the lengthy speeches criticizing Devon's argument, claiming it lacked the moral ethics in question. He walked slowly to the podium and began, "Let me ask you something: Do you believe in statistics?"

"Dogs, cats, and primates make up only 0.2% of animals used in experimentation. In the UK, 97% of research is conducted on mice, rats, fish, and birds."

"The UK consumes 300 times more fish every year than the total number of animals used for medical research."

"Domestic cats kill approximately 5 million animals every week—more than the total number of animals used for experimentation in an entire year."

Max mocked those still supporting the opposing argument and added, "The number of chickens consumed in one year in this country alone is greater than the total number of all animals used for experimentation in the past two centuries in Britain."

"Animal experimentation has been essential to every medical breakthrough in the past century. It has saved hundreds of millions of lives worldwide," Max declared in a sharper tone, pointing at the audience. "Yet none of you, before empathizing with the opposing arguments, consider where your cough medicine came from."

"There are ethical committees that ensure the potential benefits far outweigh any possible suffering caused to animals. Complaints about this issue are made just to draw attention to themselves and demand things they don't really need."

Max didn't particularly enjoy participating in debates, but in this case, he agreed with the arguments. He used all his knowledge to determine whether he supported a stance and why he chose to act accordingly.

It wasn't easy to align oneself with a side where divisions ran so deep they caused disasters. However, this time, Max was entirely in favor of animal experimentation.

Thanks to medicine, he had regained his sight, which later gave him the opportunity to take his revenge. He would be lying if he said he didn't support animal experimentation.

Of course, he firmly believed it should only be for medical advancements and human evolution. As for chemical weapon experiments, he was entirely against them, condemning the creation of weapons of mass destruction.

Devon, hearing Max's tone and noticing how he used the very statistics she had researched, felt thrilled. She knew he didn't need much preparation to excel, and she was pleased they were doing such a great job.

"But even though we support this, no one is insensitive to animal suffering. For this reason, animal welfare is backed by the 3Rs: a legal imperative to replace animals with alternatives, refine experimental techniques to prevent animal suffering, and reduce the number of animals used in research."

When Max finished speaking, he wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead and said, "I yield my time!"

"You did great. Now let's see what Bert will do. Devon murmured with a smile.

As the final opposing speech began, Max could tell this debate was well-prepared. The school was clearly grooming students from a young age to compete in the debate contest the following year, with the top teams being selected.

To conclude the debate, Bert discussed the consequences of ending animal experimentation and the advancements humanity had achieved because of it.

"Without animal research, medicine would come to a halt. Think about organ transplants. Without animal testing, none of it would have been possible."

Max, hearing this, felt a bit odd and muttered, "We should have electric organs."

Devon, standing next to him, nudged him lightly to keep him quiet and avoid drawing unprofessional attention.

"Well then, that concludes the debate. The results will be decided by the audience using the QR code on the screen. You decide who won."

The goal of each team in a debate is to sway public opinion. It doesn't matter what they claim; they must win over the audience to achieve their goal.

After many scanned the large QR code with their phones, the voting ended five minutes later, and the judge announced, "89% in favor of animal experimentation, 11% against. Congratulations to the blue team!"

When the winner was announced, many applauded. As for Max's group, they celebrated their victory.