When Donating Money to Cancer Research, etc, Are We Supporting Animal Testing?

Question

Sorry if this is a stupid question. :\

I'm talking about when they raise money on Daffodil Day, Red Nose Day, etc, for various illnesses and diseases.
Do they test on animals in their research? If yes, do you know what kind of testing? Thanks.

Answer 1

Colder is right. I too have relatives who do animal research ( the legitimate kind, not the kind that PETA and the other groups are so up in arms about all the time and want to see banned) and I know that if conducted properly, that type of research is NOT cruel to the animals involved. As for these different organizations which raise money- that is all they do !! The ACS, the Heart Association, the Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer research, are mainly fund raising groups- they don't actually do the research themselves. Instead, what they do is give grants to places like colleges and universities, as well as groups like the National Science Foundation, which allow THEM to conduct the research into new treatments and therapies for cancer and other diseases. The federal government also supports this type of research, and they have strict anti-cruelty rules which university and college researchers must adhere to or risk losing their grant money.

Since promotions and tenure in the academic world are based on productivity and research skills, rather than on teaching skill, no scientist or professor in his or her right mind wants to risk losing grant money because of cruel or inhumane practices in the lab. Indeed, cruelty is an anathema to most of the researchers I know. This same principle applies to grants given by private organizations and foundations like the Komen Foundation. Animal research of this type saves lives- a LOT of lives. Many of the treatments and medicines in use today would never have been developed or discovered at all if it hadn't been for animal research, which is something a lot of the groups like PETA don't want to admit to. PETA is also unique in a way, because their president, Newkirk, is also a Type I diabetic who requires insulin shots to live- and insulin was discovered through animal research !!! Newkirk wants to ban research like the type which allowed insulin to be discovered, and yet she would not even be ALIVE if it weren't for our animal friends- in this case, dogs !! Talk about hypocrisy- and try that one on for size. It's true that we now use recombiant DNA technology to produce insulin, but that has only been around for about 20 or so years. Prior to the 80's, insulin came first from cows and then later from hogs. Newkirk was born in the 60's, and had to learn to give herself shots while she was growing up, which I am sure must really bother her to this day. She wants to ban research and animal testing, but yet she herself has benefited from it.

There are plenty of other stories like this one in medicine, and plenty of other legitimate reasons NOT to ban research and testing on animals. Has it ever occured to you that the animals themselves often benefit from research done on them? Some of the most important advances in VETERINARY medicine have come about through research on animals and animal testing. Dogs and cats can get cancer, heart disease, liver disease, and kidney failure too, just like people, and we now have improved treatments for all of these things as a result of research done on the animals. Cats have been used as models to allow researchers to study the HIV virus that causes AIDS, because they get a virus called FLV which produces symptoms which are similar to AIDS. One of the best outcomes from that research is that we now have an effective vaccine against FLV, and it has saved the lives of thousands of cats. The techniques learned in producing the FLV vaccine have been applied to HIV reasearch, with the result that we are moving closer to finally having an AIDS vaccine.

Dogs were the heroes in the fight to find insulin, because they were the animal model which allowed the hormone's discoverers, Drs. Banting and Best, to find it. Horses have been used in research as well- one of the reasons why we have tetanus vaccines is because of research done on horses kept and bred for that purpose. Horses are also the source of the hormone replacement drug called Premarin.

I think you should go on supporting these wonderful organizations if that is what you want to do- they raise money for very good things. Just my thinking.

Answer 2

I work at a large university complex. Sometimes, in my work, I have to walk by laboratories where animal testing is going on. Sometimes there are dogs howling and it really can break one's heart. I have visions of pimply-faced sophomores poking pins into their eyes or something. Of course, that's not the kind of research they're doing. And it isn't just testing shampoo by squirting it in their eyes or something trivial like that. It is important research, that cannot be done any other way. And at least at this university, the research is done in a respectful manner designed to inflict the least amount of pain and suffering possible, though admittedly, sometimes that may not be avoidable. On the one hand, I hate it. But on the other, I believe that if this sort of research will ultimately lead to a treatment for a cancer one of my loved ones may be suffering, then it is a necessary evil. Computer modeling simply doesn't cut it for a lot of things. As to whether your donations support this sort of thing, ask. If the little grey-haired lady sitting at the table selling daffodils isn't able to answer you, then maybe you'd just better move along. She means well.

Answer 3

When you donate to some health charities then some of the money will go towards testing on animals. But not all health charities. There are many charities covering a wide span of causes that will not use your donations for animal experiments. Some will use the money to provide support groups, others fund non-animal research.

I have provided links below to help you find a non-animal testing charity to donate to. I hope you find them useful.

Answer 4

Different groups have different policies regarding animal testing. Contact a representative from the group in question. As long as you are respectful and not mean, you will get a respectful answer in return.

By the way, animal testing is the only way to perform some tests. The alternative is to test on humans. Ethics are really tough to figure out sometimes. You hate doing one thing, but the alternative is no more inviting.

Answer 5

Unfortunately much cancer research is done on animals, but if treatments and cures are found that help people as well as animals, many feel that the benefits outweigh the cost which would be a certain amount of animal cruelty. Rats are the primary animal used.

Answer 6

charity organizations vary on what their "research" is. some research for cancers and other illnesses are done on lab animals. you should ask orgnaizers directly what the money is being used for.