Australian Donors Urged to Fund Humane Research

The use of animals in research is a contentious issue in Australia, and several Not for Profit organisations – including Human Research Australia (HRA) - are actively involved in the debate.

HRA has produced a list of health and medical-related charities that neither conduct nor fund animal research. The Humane Charities List (HCL) aims to provide a resource for people wishing to donate to medical research knowing that their funds will not be directed towards animal experimentation.

HRA challenges the use of animals in research and promotes the use of more humane and scientifically-valid alternatives. The organisation contributes to community health and safety through its public education and legislation campaigns, which highlight the dangers of relying on data extrapolated from species which differ from humans anatomically, genetically and metabolically.

Humane Charities List Project Coordinator, Caley Otter, says the animal victims of medical research are unable to speak for themselves, so it is our responsibility to speak for them.

Otter says people can do this by choosing to support those charities which do not fund animal research, and that’s where the Humane Charities List comes in.

She says there are nearly 90 charities listed on the HCL, and it is growing regularly - the charities listed are diverse in the health-related aspects they provide, but all share a vision for improved human health and well-being.

According to HRA’s Chief Executive Officer, Helen Marston, the most significant benefit of the list is that it gives donors a choice – providing them with the knowledge that they can continue to support their favourite causes with the confidence that they are not also funding research that not only causes pain and suffering to animals, but can be dangerously misleading when applied to humans.

To view the Humane Charities List, visit http://www.humanecharities.org.au/

Inclusion on the Humane Charities List is free and cannot be bought. Organisations wishing to be involved should email Caley Otter on info@humanecharities.org.au, or alternatively, download the registration forms from the Humane Charities List website at www.humanecharities.org.au