British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection

The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) is a British animal protection group based in London, UK which campaigns for the complete abolition of all animal experiments. BUAV engages in education, research, lobbying, investigations, including undercover work in laboratories, and legal cases that further the cause of the anti-vivisection movement. It also promotes non-animal alternatives.

The BUAV is currently the secretariat of the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments. [ [http://www.eceae.org/english/index.html The European Coalition to End Animal Experiments] , retrieved August 26, 2006.]

Background

BUAV was founded in 1898 by Frances Power Cobbe, campaigning at first against the use of dogs in vivisection, and came close to achieving success with the 1919 Dogs (Protection) Bill, which almost became law. In recent years, it successfully lobbied the British government into abolishing the oral LD50 test in the 1990s. However, this test proved to be still in use when campaigner Keith Mann broke in to a British laboratory after said ban, fuelling mistrust of the government's position.fact|date=August 2008 The BUAV was also closely involved in the lobbying which led to the adoption in the European Union of the 7th Amendment to the Cosmetics Directive, which will effectively ban both the testing of cosmetics products and their ingredients on animals and also the sale of products in the EU which have been animal-tested anywhere in the world.

Focus

In recent years, the BUAV has focused its attention in a number of new areas, including the promotion of non-animal tested products; the European Union's REACH proposal to test tens of thousands of chemicals on millions of animals; and the use of non-human primates in experimentation.

The BUAV helps consumers to identify and purchase products which have not been tested on animals through its [http://www.buav.org/gocrueltyfree/index.html Humane Cosmetics and Humane Household Products Standards] . These are audited accreditation schemes for retail companies which confirm that neither their products nor their ingredients are tested on animals. These standards are also run in a number of European countries and in the United States. A [http://www.gocrueltyfree.org/companies.php full list] of approved companies is available and regularly updated on the BUAV website.

The BUAV runs a primate sanctuary in a forest in Thailand with 50 rescued macaques.

On 30th January 2008 the BUAV won a victory over the Home Office when an information tribunal agreed that experiment summaries are biased towards emphasising the positive aspects of research. The tribunal said summaries amounted to creating a "perception of a positive spin". The BUAV argues that this inevitably means any negative aspects such as animal suffering are downplayed.

Undercover investigations

Among the BUAV's many undercover investigations, the most recent (September 2006) exposes the [http://www.buav.org/campaigns/primates/monkeybusiness/flashindex.html breeding and supply of monkeys] from Nafovanny in Vietnam for experimentation in Europe and the US. Recent previous investigations include the University of Cambridge and Covance's contract testing laboratory in Germany. The BUAV is at present pursuing a judicial review against the Home Office as a result of its findings in the Cambridge investigation. (See Cambridge University primate experiments.) Other recent investigations in 2007 have highlighted the primate trade from Malayasia and Spain. In February 2008, the High Commission of Malayasia confirmed to the BUAV that a ban on the primate trade would be reinstated following the BUAV investigation.

Position on violence

The BUAV is totally opposed to any form of violence or intimidation. By campaigning peacefully to highlight animal laboratory abuse through determined undercover investigations, research and lobbying it has led the way in moving animal testing up the political agenda. The Director of Policy, Paul Marsden has said, "The BUAV will continue to change minds through meticulous research and exposing the reality of animal testing in a peaceful manner. There is no excuse for any form of intimidation or threats."

ee also

*Cambridge University primate experiments
*Nafovanny

Notes

Further reading

* [http://www.buav.org/ BUAV website]
* [http://www.testingtoday.info/ BUAV animation]
* [http://www.eceae.org European Coalition to End Animal Experiments]