Our achievements
With a history spanning over 100 years, Cruelty Free International has achieved so much for animals in laboratories.
Bringing the issue to public attention with our dynamic and determined approach, we have inspired generations of politicians, decision-makers and compassionate people to make a difference for animals used in experiments. As the problem has grown, we have stepped up to meet the challenge across the world, placing the issue on the global agenda for the first time.
We have saved many thousands of animals from a life of suffering in laboratories, and together we can do so much more.
Campaigning for no cruel cosmetics in Europe
Some of our recent key achievements
Following 20 years of tireless campaigning by Cruelty Free International, the European Union banned cosmetics testing on animals. Since then, countries including India, Israel and New Zealand have followed Europe’s lead with their own bans. And we are building on this momentum with progress in Brazil, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, the U.S. and China.
We have been instrumental in exposing the international supply of non-human primates for the research industry. In 1991 we launched the first ever in-depth investigation of the trade in monkeys for research, revealing the cruelties inherent in the trade in wild animals. This has resulted in country trade restrictions and government bans on the use of monkeys taken from the wild.
Our campaign to stop airlines transporting monkeys for research has resulted in many of the world’s major airlines refusing to participate in this cruel trade.
Following our investigation at Cambridge University, we established in the High Court that the Government’s approach to categorising animal suffering was unlawful. The investigation threw light on the appalling way in which animals were left unattended overnight after major brain surgery.
Our chemicals testing campaign achieved many positive measures to minimise the use of animal testing for Europe’s chemical testing legislation, known as REACH. It has potentially saved hundreds of thousands of animals from cruel chemicals testing.
Following our investigation into experiments on wild baboons in Kenya, Newcastle University in the UK announced that it would stop its involvement in these controversial experiments. Our harrowing footage revealed researchers from the university bypassing UK law (which banned the use of wild-caught monkeys in research in 1995) and travelling to Kenya to use baboons taken from the wild.
Our undercover investigation at Wickham Laboratories exposed the appalling suffering inflicted on hundreds of thousands of mice for the worldwide botox craze. Manufacturers of botox are now in the process of developing alternatives to these cruel animal tests.
In 1996, we launched the Leaping Bunny programme. Symbolised by the Leaping Bunny logo, our world-leading programme is turning shopping malls cruelty free with more and more leading household names gaining Leaping Bunny approval.
Our work achieved a ban in 2001 on the use of the cruel and controversial LD50 oral toxicity tests in the UK, in which animals could be force fed chemicals until 50% of them died.
We won the prestigious Sustainability Pioneer category of the Sustainable Beauty Awards in 2014 for our work to ban cruel cosmetics in Europe. The award requires evidence of a positive social, economic and environmental impact and a significant contribution to sustainable development in the beauty industry.
