Seventy percent of 18 to 24 year-olds responded that they would be more likely to donate to a health charity that had a policy of never funding any type of animal experiments. These numbers are not surprising. In a survey conducted last month for the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics, Opinion Research Corporation found that two-thirds of the females surveyed responded that they would be more likely to purchase a personal grooming or cosmetic product after seeing it indicated that neither the finished product nor its ingredients had been tested on animals. Just as cruelty-free cosmetics companies have capitalized on this public opinion, the successful charities of tomorrow will adopt policies against animal testing. Likewise, the AIDS virus was identified using cellular methods.
Animal tests are unnecessary, duplicative, and scientifically inaccurate.
Potential donors know that answers to human health problems are not likely to come from rats and mice. The survey also found that 54 percent of people would prefer that their donations to health charities be used to fund patient care and education, rather than research.