We know that asthma is a complex condition, and our researchers are still piecing together the information to answer important questions that will help to identify the underlying causes, and find new ways to diagnose, treat and prevent asthma. Under certain circumstances, some of this research cannot be done without involving animals. Asthma UK understands and appreciates that people do have concerns about medical research involving animals, and charities providing funding support for it, and shares people's concerns about the well-being of animals in medical research.
We would like to reassure our supporters that Asthma UK would only consider funding research involving animals if all other possibilities have been carefully and fully considered, the research is not an unnecessary duplication of previous work and it is likely to lead to essential information that could otherwise not be achieved by alternative methods.
1. Lots of medical research is conducted on animals, and sadly, I suspect until a better method for predicting a drugs effect is found, I suspect animal research will continue. This is lifesaving research, which does somewhat differentiate it from the cosmetics industry. People die from asthma. We as a society tend to value human life over the wellbeing of animals and maybe that is wrong. But there are FAR bigger things for you to be cross about. Clothes shops selling products manufactured by children, humans generally destroying vast vast amounts of woodland and rainforest and making countless numbers of species extinct, the developed worlds general poor attitude to nations in greater need than us. These are surely more pressing, these surely cost more lives than through drug testing, and these are far harder to justify than medical research.nn2. I don't think they'd have any reason to delete your post, it's not exactly something they're going to put on their front page as a selling point of their company but as most (all??) medical research is done using animals at some stage, it isn't going to be the worlds biggest secret.nn3. I don't think it is a denial of freedom of speech.Surely this being a site run by AUK they have the option to not include a forum at all, and surely they can censor it how they choose if they d have a forum? I haven't read up on freedom of speech laws - I assume you have before making these claims?
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.