Non-Animal Research on the Rise

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2009-12-24 14:00:00 UTC
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The Dr. Hadwen Trust received a record number of grant applications for humane medical research projects in 2009. And it's not just the natural inflation of applicants willing to meet their strict non-animal ethical guidelines -- the 120 applications represent a 500% increase over last year, and a 114% increase over the previous record in 2003. The Dr. Hadwen Trust is impressed with the pool of applicants, saying that the range of fields represented shows a significant increased interest throughout medicine in replacing animal experiments.

“The limitations of using animals are becoming increasingly acknowledged within the scientific community. This is reflected by the increase in the number of grant applications where applicants are motivated by a desire to improve the quality of their research and replace animals with more human-relevant advanced methods and technologies.” says Dr Sebastien Farnaud, Science Director of the DHT. “The ethical responsibility to tackle animal suffering is also a key factor, with many of the proposals having the potential to replace the use of thousands of animals each year.”

The Dr. Hadwen Trust is the UK's leading humane research charity, and they only fund non-animal techniques. Among their success stories was funding for early research to replace eye irritation tests on rabbits and the ground-breaking research that led to the development of a non-invasive brain scanner that replaced invasive experiments on cats and monkey.

The projects proposed by this year's crop of scientists include advanced 3D cell culture techniques, computer modeling, and non-invasive brain scanning. While the 120 applications represent a very small segment of medical research community, it's still 120 scientists who not only recognize the inaccuracy and inhumanity of animal testing, but who are dedicated to finding a way to replace those techniques. And the fact that their ranks are growing is good new for animals and science.

Unfortunately, there's not nearly enough funding out there to develop non-animal research methods. The Dr. Hadwen Trust is one of the few resources for humane scientists, and they can't afford to fund all of the projects that come their way. The U.S. has the Alternatives Research and Development Foundation, its own overwhelmed nonprofit providing grants to support the development and adoption of non-animal research methods. Over the past several years, there's been some progress in getting the U.S. government to actively seek alternatives to animal testing, but we still have a long way to go and need a lot more funding to get there.

(One way to light a fire under government agencies to provide more funding for alternative research is to take away their "traditional" cruel methods. Write your representative in support of the Great Ape Protection Act.)


Photo credit: The Wandering Angel

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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