Dylan Underhill, Head of Public Affairs (UK & EU) and Alex Mayer, Labour MP for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard © Denis Oates Photography
We took our vision for a cruelty-free future to the streets of Liverpool yesterday, as our successful visit to the city for the Labour Party Conference continued.
We were joined by Labour MPs Alex Mayer (Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard) and Irene Campbell (North Ayrshire and Arran), plus hundreds of interested shoppers, on Paradise Street in Liverpool city centre to unveil our new 6 x 3 metre 3D pavement artwork.
The scene, of a typical British living room, illustrates how the manufacture, processing and approval of almost every item in our homes can be associated with animal testing, from furniture polish and air freshener to your TV and sofa and even the paint on your walls.
The chemicals used in the creation of cleaning products, fragrances, plastics, electronics components, colour dyes and fabrics, are all tested on animals with the intention to provide information on their safety and effectiveness.
Latest figures show that in 2023 there were over 2.68 million uses of animals in laboratories in Great Britain – including over 246,000 uses in regulatory testing for chemicals, medicines and other products.
Our Head of Public Affairs (UK and EU), Dylan Underhill, said: “The reactions of people we spoke to were fascinating and heartening. There was already a good degree of awareness of what animal testing involves, but not the extent to which it impacts almost every aspect of our daily lives. We were able to answer lots of questions on cruelty-free products and the Leaping Bunny programme – one woman even went straight from meeting us to buy the first product on her journey to going cruelty-free!”
This followed Monday night’s confirmation that the government has appointed Lord Patrick Vallance, Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, to lead the development of a cross-departmental Roadmap to phase-out animal testing in the UK. The news was announced in Liverpool by Minister for Animal Welfare, Baroness Sue Hayman, at a discussion panel on which Dylan also featured. Read the full story here.
Photography © Denis Oates Photography
Every minute, five animals suffer in experiments in British laboratories. By donating today, you could help us carry out research into non-animal test methods and make sure they are used. Will you join the fight for a cruelty-free UK today?