The Humane Charity Seal of Approval
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Physicians Committee
June 2010

[NOTE from All-Creatures.org: As of June 2015, Physicians Committee is no longer working on or hosting The Humane Seal website. The information below as posted in 2010 remains on our site for informational purposes only. For more information, visit Links to Cruelty-Free Shopping and Other Vegan Resources.]

PCRM has joined with other research modernization and animal protection organizations to form the Council on Humane Giving. The Council on Humane Giving has developed the Humane Charity Seal of Approval, which is awarded to health charities that fund only nonanimal research and programs.

The Humane Charity Seal of Approval is the easiest way for donors to spot charities that are committed to providing vital services and care to patients or advancing research without the use of animals.

A majority of people favor charities that avoid animal experiments

Of a random sample of 1,006 people polled, 51 percent agreed with the statement: “I would be more likely to donate to a health charity that had a policy of never funding any type of animal experiments.” Twenty-five percent not only agreed, but strongly agreed with this statement. This sentiment held across the full range of income levels. Conversely, when asked, “I would be less likely to donate to a health charity if I knew that the charity funds animal research experiments,” 47 percent of those polled agreed. The survey was commissioned by PCRM and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation of Princeton, N.J.

The major donors of tomorrow are even more likely to be influenced by a charity's stance on animal testing. 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. Among 25 to 34 year-olds, 57 percent agreed with this statement.

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. In 1995, Americans donated $23.5 billion to the nation's top 400 charities.

Says PCRM president Neal Barnard, M.D., “The real breakthroughs in heart disease have been achieved by using non-animal methods such as epidemiology, in vitro methods, and clinical intervention. 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.

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