Animal research
BMJ 2011; 343 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.d4916 (Published 25 August 2011) Cite this as: BMJ 2011;343:d4916
- Anna Mead-Robson, foundation year one doctor
- 1Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust, UK
Many people would feel uncomfortable knowing that the cosmetics they were using had undergone animal testing. But would you turn down medical treatment that had been tested on animals? And would you refuse to donate to a charity if you knew it funded animal research?
The United Kingdom’s largest animal rights group, Animal Aid, recently called on members of the public to stop donating to Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, the Alzheimer’s Society, and Parkinson’s UK. They claimed that these charities fund research that causes “appalling suffering” to animals, including mice, monkeys, pigs, and dogs.1
Victims of charity
The move coincided with Animal Aid’s publication of Victims of Charity, a report on the use of animals in charity funded research.2 Adrian Stallwood, a doctor in accident and emergency, who coauthored the report, explains: “Our aim was to have a robust, carefully referenced critique of animal research. Until now the debate has been utterly polarised by extremists. We’ve tried to keep ethics to one side and ask—is animal research reliable, and does it work for human benefit?
“The four charities in question all regard animal models as being essential to their research, but we would disagree with that. My contention as a doctor is that animal research is not delivering results for patients. Take Alzheimer’s disease for example—drugs in development are very powerful on genetically modified mice, but they tend to flop in clinical trials. Clearly something is going wrong.
“This announcement isn’t going to bankrupt these charities, but we’re trying to send them a clear message. We’re up against a very strong background of media silence on the subject, and in order to get the debate going we had to do something controversial.
“Besides,” Dr Stallwood adds, “it’s also an information issue—people have a right …
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