CONGRATULATIONS to postie Mark Edmonds for having his seven-year growth of hair cut and beard shaved to raise more than £1,300 for charity (“The seven-year itch ends for postie Mark”, Advertiser, Apr 13).

It’s very pleasing that Mark has given the money to the Dr Hadwen Trust, which funds and promotes medical research without using animals.

According to a National Opinion Poll, 82 per cent of those asked said they would not donate to health charities that fund animal experiments.

Members of the public who want to help medical research, but do not wish to contribute towards animal suffering, can find out whether or not charities fund animal experiments at http://tinyurl.com/ AnimalAid-HealthCharities or a printed version can be obtained by calling Animal Aid on 01732 364546.

Louise Jones

Redditch