The purpose of this Animal Aid website is to monitor and challenge charity-funded animal experiments. By raising public awareness of the cruel and pointless animal experiments funded by some medical research charities, and making it easy for people to challenge them, we aim to persuade these organisations to change their policies and focus solely on productive and ethical non-animal research.

No matter who funds them, experiments on animals are unethical and unscientific. Animals are not laboratory tools, but sentient creatures who can and do suffer during the course of experiments. Animal experiments are also bad science, since the fundamental differences between humans and animals mean that the results cannot be reliably applied to people.

Monkey in a cage

The inpsiration for this website and campaign was Animal Aid’s 2011 report, Victims of Charity. It exposed four major medical research charities for their funding of animal experiments. Written by Dr Adrian Stallwood – a specialty doctor in emergency medicine – and Andre Menache – who holds degrees in zoology and veterinary medicine – the report focused on Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, Parkinson’s UK and the Alzheimer’s Society. Mutilated beagles, monkeys brain-damaged with poisonous chemicals, mice forced to swim in water mazes; the list of cruel and macabre experiments revealed by the report went on and on. Crucially though, Victims of Charity also debunked the faulty science that had been used to justify such experiments.

By exposing their betrayal of donors, as well as of animals and, ultimately, patients, we placed the four charities at the centre of a public outcry. They rushed to defend themselves, even making statements, through a spokesman, in the House of Lords, perhaps hoping that the controversy would be short-lived. However, with the help of our supporters, we have ensured that these organisations are reminded of the widespread objection to their practices.

Beagle puppy, 6 months old, in front of white background

This website steps up the pressure. Our posts describe examples of charity-funded animal experiments, exposing both the animal suffering and faulty science. Please challenge the charities over their support for these cruel and medically-useless experiments. For each experiment exposed, we have provided a template for action to make this as easy as possible.

We are under no illusions about the immense power of many of the organisations that we are challenging. They have the ability to draw on our natural fear of disease to obtain vast sums of money from the public. Yet they are also extremely vulnerable, since they depend on public donations for their survival. If enough people object and withdraw their support, then they will eventually have to choose between focusing entirely on productive and ethical research or facing serious financial difficulties.

Please support this vital Aid Aid campaign by making a donation.

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