Many people give money to charities believing their money will be used to help people in need. They don’t always realize that their money may instead be used to fund testing on animals. While some people believe animal testing is necessary, there are now many humane ways to learn about disease and to test medical treatments, methods that are actually more effective than testing on animals and that do not cause pain and death to innocent creatures.
Here are just a few of the charities that currently fund testing on animals. If you object to testing on animals, let these charities know you cannot support them until they stop harming and killing animals. Find other, kinder charities to support instead.
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association has funded studies to determine the effects of second hand smoke on chickens, forcing the birds to breathe concentrated cigarette smoke for extended periods of time. One has to question the value of such studies, since the harmful effects of second hand smoke on humans have been well established. The American Heart Association has helped fund numerous other cruel studies, including studies in holes were cut in the throats of lambs to see how that affected their breathing.
March of Dimes
The March of Dimes funded a study in which the eyes of kittens were sewn shut for one year, to prove that loss of normal vision alters the brain development of cats. Science long ago established that loss of vision alters brain development of humans, but now we know it does the same thing in cats. The kittens were killed after one year. The March of Dimes also funds studies in which drugs and alcohol are given to pregnant animals to prove that these substances harm developing babies, something we all know harms humans.
Red Cross
Many people are surprised to learn that the Red Cross funds experiments on animals, but they do. In one experiment, researchers drained 30 percent of the blood volume of rabbits every two weeks to see how it affected them. Other experiments funded by the Red Cross involved mice, rats and toads.
Shriners Burns Institutes
Shriners Burns Institutes have studied the effects of burns on rats, guinea pigs, dogs and sheep for years. In one study, rats were burned so that the effects of a particular drug on wound healing could be studied. Since the drug was already being used on humans, one is left to wonder why the researchers didn’t just study the effects of the drug on them.
Other popular charities that support testing on animals include:
American Cancer Society
American Diabetes Association
Autism Speaks
Boys Town National Research Hospital
Children’s Miracle Network
Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation
Epilepsy Foundation of America
Locks of Love
Mary Kay Foundation
Mental Health America
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
Muscular Dystrophy Association
National Children’s Leukemia Foundation
National Down Syndrome Society
National Kidney Foundation
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
St. Baldrick’s Foundation
Stand Up To Cancer
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
United Cerebral Palsy
Sources:
Group for the Education of Animal-Related Issues. http://www.geari.org/faq-charities-animal-testing.html. Health Charities and Animal Experimentation.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. http://www.humaneseal.org/search.cfm. Charities.