Pamela Anderson Rejects Ice Bucket Challenge Because Of ALS Animal Testing History (UPDATE)

While many celebrities have accepted the now-viral ice bucket challenge , meant to raise awareness and money for the ALS Association, Pamela Anderson has decided to turn the challenge down.

In a Facebook post written Wednesday, August 20, Anderson explains she would like to "challenge ALS to stop Animal testing."

The former "Baywatch" star, 47, further explains that experiments made on animals to find a cure for ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) in humans have been unfruitful, and encourages her fans to "support charities that never harm animals and which pour their time and resources into advanced, promising, human-relevant cures."

Anderson is a known animal rights activist and was named PETA's Person of the Year in 2010 .

Despite tremendous Hollywood support, Anderson is not the only celebrity to publicly speak again the trend. Zachary Quinto opted out of the challenge, pointing to "staggering drought in california [sic] and the desperate need for clean drinking water in developing countries" as cause . P!nk's husband Carey Hart praised ALS for its "creative" campaign while condemning its social factor, saying the challenge has evolved "into a pass along joke to some."

As of Thursday, August 21, The ALS Association has received $41.8 million in donations , reads its official website.

If you would like to donate and help spread awareness about ALS, head over to www.alsa.org .

UPDATE 8/24: The Daily Banter reached out to the ALS Association for comment. The following is their official statement on animal testing, as sent to reporter Ben Cohen:

Significant advances have been made in ALS and other neurological disorders such as Alzheimers Disease and Parkinsons Disease using model systems such as rodents, flies and worms to better understand disease mechanisms and to develop therapies. With advances in technology made possible through research funding from The ALS Association, different approaches to minimize the use of these model systems are being developed. Similar to organizations globally, The ALS Association supports laboratories and scientists that strictly adhere to the guidelines provided by the National Institutes of Health. The Association is committed to honoring donor intent. If a donor is not comfortable with a specific type of research, he or she can stipulate that their dollars not be invested in that particular area.