Welcome

As our name suggests, ADI’s mission is to educate, create awareness and alleviate animal suffering as well as to safeguard animal species and conserve their environment.

Animal Defenders International group comprises ADI, NAVS and LDF, working for the protection of animals from abuse and suffering all over the world and promoting scientific non-animal research to replace unreliable, unethical and unnecessary testing on animals.

Our undercover investigations, established research department, political lobbying expertise and long history of success and support allow ADI to take precedence of the animal welfare lobby. Here are some of ADI’s campaigns that address today’s animal welfare issues.

EC Directive 86/609: Ending the use of primates in EU research

The EU is currently considering plans to overhaul of Europe-wide animal experimentation rules under EC Directive 86/609, including a possible ban on experiments on chimpanzees and a review of monkey research. Conversely, the option for a centralised EU chimp research facility is also being considered a disastrous step.

NAVS and ADI provided a detailed, expert response to the EU consultation process on 86/609 covering issues such as general husbandry, licensing of tests, freedom of information, and cost implications. Supporters were able to participate in the EU¹s public consultation via our websites.

Written Declaration 64, supported by ADI and NAVS, is being sponsored in the European Parliament by UK MEPs David Martin, Vice-President of the European Parliament (Labour–Party of European Socialists); Robert Evans (Lab–PES); Sajjad Karim (Liberal Democrats–Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe); together with Portuguese MEP Paulo Casaca (PES), President of the Inter Group on Animal welfare and Swedish MEP Carl Schlyter (Green Party).

The Declaration has received unprecedented support as almost 90 MEPs have pledged their support for a complete end to experiments on primates across Europe. The campaign has received a major boost with the backing of leading EU statesmen such as John Bowis OBE MEP, former Minister of Health in the Conservative Government, and Michel Rocard MEP former Socialist Prime Minister in France.

International Primate Day

To mark last year’s International Primate Day (held on September 1st), ADI ensured motions were simultaneously placed before the European Parliament and the US House of Representatives calling for an end to experiments on non-human primates. Motions were also tabled in the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly.

An ADI report on non-human primate experiments, ‘The Primate Nations’, marked last year’s International Primate Day and highlighted not only the similarities between humans and other primates, but also the crucial differences that can dangerously misdirect biomedical research, as well as the non-animal techniques that could be used instead.

The report was accompanied by video and photographs taken last summer inside Europe’s largest laboratory monkey supply facility, which currently holds several hundred macaque monkeys from Mauritius but has a capacity for around 3,000 – Europe uses a total of approximately 7,500 macaques a year.

ADI’s new footage exposes the primate supply centre in Camarles, Spain, run by French company Noveprim/CRP, which receives primates from Mauritius which could have been caught in the wild. Indeed, figures for primates supplied to the UK from Mauritius as a whole indicate that all of the animals are first generation progeny of wild-caught (or at least one wild-caught) parent.

Political Advertising Case

In June 2005, ADI applied to the High Court to declare that the ban on political advertising under the Communications Act 2003 was incompatible with the right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The ban has prevented ADI along with thousands of campaigning organisations from advertising on radio and TV, including Amnesty and Make Poverty History. However, such organisations can advertise freely in most other European and Commonwealth countries.

The Act makes it is legal to use performing chimpanzees and monkeys to advertise anything from soft drinks to credit cards on television. Yet when ADI produced an advert questioning this and asking people to consider the suffering of these animals, and how they are trained and treated it was banned out of hand.

On December 4, 2006, the Court refused ADI’s application for a declaration of incompatibility under s.4 of the Human Rights Act 1998. However, the Court has cleared the way for ADI to apply for leave to appeal directly to the House of Lords.

Animals in Advertising

One of ADI’s most successful ongoing campaigns has been to protest at leading household brands’ use of performing animals in their TV, cinema and print ads.

When performing animals appear on TV screens or in newspapers or magazines, many assume that ‘someone’ is looking after the welfare of the animals. Those who book animals for their promotions believe that their responsibility begins and ends with what happens on the set.

However as ADI’s investigations have shown, it is what happens before (long before) the animal arrives on set that is important. This is where the actual training takes place, and where welfare is often compromised. It is not only reward training such as the withdrawal of food or water that encourages animals to perform. The trainer is often the sole source of contact, approval and affection as well and this power can be used to make the animal comply.

ADI has also gathered video evidence of physical and emotional punishment in training of animals. This campaign has taken aim at some of the world’s major brands such as Toyota, Diageo, D&G, Barclaycard, Sony Ericsson, Unilever, Saab, Coca-Cola as well as the UK Government’s Revenue & Customs, Big Brother producer Endemol, Visa, Abbey and Uniliver. ADI investigates any adverts where performing animals are featured and writes to protest to the companies involved and condemn their irresponsible actions in the media, often calling for a boycott of the brands by supporters.

If you are interested in any of ADI’s campaigns or would like further information on them, please see our website at:

World Lab Animal Week (April 23rd – 27th, 2007)

NAVS will again hold its awareness week of laboratory animals in April to serve as a reminder that the UK has become the vivisection capital of Europe with 2.85 million experiments performed on animals in 2004 in the UK. Last year’s TGN1412 drug trial disaster, which turned several healthy volunteers into 'Elephant Men', had once again shown that animal testing is not only unethical but also dangerous and unreliable.

While countries such as Japan are investing in safer, animal-free testing facilities, animal experiments have reached their highest level for over a decade in the UK. EDM 2088 tabled by David Taylor MP, supported by ADI, argues for more government funding for new technology advances such as micro-dosing which would make human testing far safer and accurate, supported by 48 MPs.

Animal Welfare Bill

ADI has been campaigning for over 10 years to end the use of animals in circuses and now the end is in sight.

On 8th March 2006 the Animal Welfare Minister Ben Bradshaw announced that he would “ban certain wild animals from performing in travelling circuses”. As a member of the Circus Working Group (CWG), ADI has submitted scientific evidence to DEFRA, which concludes that the welfare needs of animals cannot be met in circuses.

MORI and NOP opinion polls conducted by ADI indicate overwhelming public support for a ban on animals travelling with circuses and 144 MPs have now signed EDM 1626 to ban animals in travelling circuses in the Animal Welfare Bill. ADI launched the report “Animals in Travelling Circuses – The science on suffering” in the House of Lords and is making the case for a total ban.

ADI’s amendment, supported by Lady Miller, called for a total ban and was the only amendment tabled at every stage of the Animal Welfare Bill in the House of Lords.

ADI’s Stop Circus Suffering campaign is running in the UK, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Greece, Peru and later this year will be launched in Bolivia, Equador and Colombia. Several countries have already banned all or most wild animals from circuses including Cost Rica, Austria, Denmark and Singapore. In the UK over 200 local authorities have also banned circuses using wild animals, as have the towns of Malia, Thessaloniki and Patras in Greece, 28 towns in Croatia, Austria, Belgium and Dutch councils.

REACH

On 19 December 2006, REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals), was officially signed by the President of the European Parliament and the President of Finland, the country currently presiding the EU.

The Regulation, seen as one of the most important piece of legislation in the history of the EU, aims at replacing hazardous substances with safer alternatives. However, the toxicity of many substances covered by REACH is likely to be tested on animals, in what will be the biggest wave of animal testing ever.

ADI set out an alternative strategy that promotes the use of advanced scientific and technological techniques in the place of animal experiments, which have been found by scientific studies to be misleading. On REACH, ADI has secured almost every demand from its first postcard campaign two years ago, which will save millions of lab animals’ lives.

ADI and the NAVS campaigned throughout the REACH legislative process to promote replacement of animal experiments by more reliable alternatives provided by modern technologies. We produced reports making the case for alternatives to animal experiments, we lobbied the European Parliament and our supporters played a crucial role in this campaign by sending a quarter of a million post-cards to the MEPs.

In June 2006 we welcomed the Action Plan from the “European Partnership to Promote Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing”, The Partnership has put in place a five-year action plan, and succeeded in documenting activities relating to the 3Rs (Refinement, Reduction & Replacement) to focus research and avoid duplication of effort. Areas have also been identified where collaboration between industry and regulators can further enhance the application of the 3R methods in safety testing.

To find out more visit the Animal Defenders International website
Or, write to us at: Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP.