Walkers called to keep hold of cash (From Stroud News and Journal)

Walkers called to keep hold of cash

AN ANIMAL lover from Stroud is calling on hikers planning to take part in the Five Valleys Walk to put on their boots but keep their cash. Every year the walk raises thousands of pounds for the Stroud-based Meningitis Trust but Ron Birch, who lives at the Top of Town, is urging people not to give the charity any more money until it changes its policy on animal experiments. He believes many people do not realise the Meningitis Trust still uses animals in its research. Every year the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NVAS) publishes a Good Charities Guide which lists medical charities that refuse to use animal experiments. The society points to a whole range of medical advances that have come without animal experiments, such as the link between smoking and cancer and the introduction of beta blockers to control blood pressure. "This year's guide lists almost a hundred illness-related charities which do not carry out experiments on animals," said Mr Birch. "These include well-known names like British Polio Fellowship, RNIB, RNID and the Stroke Association. "However, the guide also lists 49 charities which persist in using animals for research and the Meningitis Trust is one of them. "I know lots of people enjoy the Five Valleys Walk and I hope they continue to do it because it is fun and good exercise," he said. "But I also hope they refuse to give a penny to the Meningitis Trust until it publicly and permanently renounces the use of animals in its research. "People should also be aware that the Meningitis Trust is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities which lobbies for fewer safeguards for animals used in research." Philip Kirby, chief executive of the trust, told the News & Journal that less than ten per cent of its medical projects used animal experiments and only 20 per cent of its annual income was spent on research. "As an organisation involved in medical research we are subject to strict government guidelines concerning the use of animals in research," he said. The bulk of the Meningitis Trust's resources was, he said, spent on supporting people whose lives had been devastated by the disease. He said the trust supported the development of vaccines, which are the only effective way to prevent death and disability from meningitis. "It would be a great shame for the charity, the local area and all those participants who have selflessly been raising sponsorship for the Five Valleys Walk if this year's event was damaged by this adverse publicity," he said. "The Meningitis Trust has never withheld information from the public about its medical research practices, 90 per cent of which do not involve animals at all."