Alzheimer's Society - Animal Research

Animal Research

In January, Animal Aid wrote to the four charities that are the focus of their Victims of Charity campaign – Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, Parkinson's UK and the Alzheimer’s Society – challenging them to a public debate on the scientific and moral issues relating to their funding of animal experiments "Animal Aid plans to take out a series of newspaper adverts urging the public to stop giving money to Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, the Alzheimer's Society and Parkinson's UK unless they end their support for animal testing."

PETA includes the Alzheimer's Society on its list of charities who test on animals. Information listed on their website is as follows; Some charities continue to test on animals. Even if they are conducting valuable work in other fields, it is usually not possible to specify how your donation will be used. In those circumstances, it is best to donate to a charity that doesn't use animals at all. Before giving money to a health-research charity that isn't approved by PETA, we recommend that you investigate their current policy on animal testing (policies can change, which is why a response from the charity itself is the most certain way to find out). Some charities will have that information on their websites, but you may need to contact others directly. If the charity does test on animals, please let them know that you will be donating your money to one which invests all its resources in effective, humane non-animal research instead.

The Alzheimer's Society official comment on animal testing is;

Alzheimer's Society recognises the necessity of involving animals in medical research.

Without animals most of the medical advances we rely on today would not have been possible. This includes vaccination, drugs, surgical techniques and better understanding of the biology of diseases and medical conditions including Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

There are difficult ethical concerns about the use of animals in research. For this reason the restrictions placed on the use of animals are extremely strict. Alternative techniques are used wherever possible and all efforts are made to ensure any animals are treated humanely.

There are a number of animal 'models' used to mimic the conditions of dementia. The most commonly used models are in mice and fruit flies. Research using these valuable tools has enabled scientists to understand how dementia develops and to test new drugs and treatments.

For more information visit the Alzheimer's Society website (www.alzheimers.org.uk) as everything is clearly stated and can be searched easily;