From BUAV to Cruelty Free International
To help us achieve more for animals in laboratories, the BUAV has changed to Cruelty Free International.
It is just our name that’s changed. Our vision to create a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals remains the same.
We’re fiercely proud of our history and what we’ve achieved as the BUAV. But the reasons for changing are clear and we’re confident that this change will help us increase our impact for animals.
The benefits of changing our name
One of the main reasons for changing our name is that some people just didn’t understand what ‘BUAV’ means. This prevented them supporting us, or made it harder for us to build relationships with them. Confusion over what our name meant was a major barrier to securing support.
We need as many people as possible to join our movement, so we need a name that’s easily understood. To tackle animal experiments around the world, we really do need all the support we can get.
Helping animals in laboratories around the world
The world has changed a great deal since we were founded in 1898. Our cause is no longer solely a British one. Animal research is now a global business, multinational companies are involved and animals are being shipped across country borders. This is not just a British problem - it is a global one.
We’ve been working internationally for years now, and having a British name sometimes made it difficult to achieve as much progress as we need. Our new name is helping us to be even more effective in our work to improve the lives of animals across the world.
Why Cruelty Free International
Cruelty Free International is a name that already belonged to us. We established it in 2012 to end animal testing for cosmetics around the world, and since then the name has opened so many doors for us across the globe, and increased our impact for animals.
Cruelty Free International clearly describes what we’re working for and does it in a positive way. We are absolutely confident that our new name will help us to bring about the day when animal experiments are consigned to the history books.
Our work remains the same
It’s just our name that’s changed – to help us be more effective in the work we’re already doing. We are still the leading organisation working solely to end cruel animal experiments around the world. Our vision remains the same: to create a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals.
All the great work carried out by the BUAV to realise that vision continues. There is still a long way to go; animals are being experimented on in huge numbers across the world. We have to dramatically increase our impact for these animals.
Our new name is clearer, simpler and more positive. It is helping us bring about a significant change in the number of people who support our movement, be they donors, campaigners, shoppers, companies or politicians.
Our new name will strengthen us, not change us. It will enable us to build on the successes of the past and meet the challenges of the future.
Changing on a shoestring
We’re not a big organisation and cost efficiency is very important to us. Our name change process was managed internally, and we were already using the Cruelty Free International name and logo for some campaigning work.
You don’t need to change anything
You don’t need to make any changes or contact your bank if you give to the BUAV or Cruelty Free International via direct debit.
You don’t need to do anything if you have left the BUAV a gift in your will. Our contact details and registration numbers have not changed so your executors, whether solicitors, family members or friends, can easily identify us. Please do contact our Legacy Officer via 020 7700 4888 or info@crueltyfreeinternational.org if you have any questions.
If you have made a Gift Aid declaration for the BUAV Charitable Trust you don’t need to do anything as the Cruelty Free International Trust is still the same organisation, so this will continue as before.
And if you received our newsletters and email updates before our name changed then you will continue to receive them now.
If you have any questions
Please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d love to hear from you.
