Ending animal experimentation would benefit not only the animals but us as individuals and as a society. Ending animal experimentation and the harmful use of animals in science helps…

... Animals
Every year, several thousand animals are enduring extreme pain or discomfort during experiments in Aotearoa. Some animals, particularly rats and mice are bred in excess, just to be killed when they are not needed. A lot of research is conducted for the animal agriculture industry so that animals can be more ‘efficiently’ exploited.

... People
Animal experiments regularly fail to detect if a drug or medicine is going to be toxic to humans. We know of many drugs that would have been abandoned before ever reaching human patients if they had been tested on the “wrong” species. Additionally, researchers conducting animal experiments often struggle with their conscience. Alternative methods of teaching anatomy and physiology are teaching students better and more ethically than animal dissections.

... Science
Keeping, breeding, and testing on animals is incredibly expensive and takes a long time, funnelling resources away from more meaningful work. Animal-free research methods like Organ-on-a-chip enable researchers to observe and measure things that are simply impossible to access using animals. Animal-free methods are often not only cheaper but more accurate.

The 3Rs are a set of guiding principles widely promoted by the animal experimentation industry. They stand for:

Replacement: Replacing the use of animals in science where possible.

Reduction: If not replacing, to try and reduce the number of animals used, for example through re-use or better statistical design.

Refinement: For the animals who are used, to refine the method in order to cause less stress or harm.

While this sounds good in principle, the 3Rs are problematic, because:

• They are not enforced. In all legislation and animal ethics guidelines, 3Rs "must be considered" and are "encouraged" but they are ultimately just a box to check without substance behind them. Many viable animal-free methods already exist, but that doesn't prevent animal from being used under 3R guidelines.
• They promote the concept of animal experiments as necessary. The 3Rs core concept is that animal experiments are justified as long as you tick certain boxes of "humane" methods. They are not incentivising researchers to move away from the animal model.
• They only try to improve a broken system. The principles of Refinement and Reduction only encourage researchers to improve their animal experiments without regard to the systematic problems and the high failure rate of trying to model human reactions using animals. This way, the guidelines only perpetuate the use of animals.
• They don't encourage animal-free method development. The Replacement principle only applies when there is an animal-free model ready to use. The guidelines don't push for such models to be developed.

We would rather see a set of guidelines that are motivated by ethics and scientific evidence, and are enforced rather than simply promoted. We agree with 1R: the full replacement of animal experimentation and harmful use of animals in science!

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Team NZAVS advocates for the use of animal-free and human-relevant research, testing and teaching methods that don't cause harm to animals or people.

For humans these include:

• Human-relevant research for finding cures and treatments for humans as well as for testing the safety of products and substances for humans.
• Human-relevant teaching methods for training people on how to help people.
• Other non-harmful teaching methods, like using models and simulators.

For animals these include:

• Non-harmful research, testing or teaching that is done to improve the quality of health for the individual involved in the study. Interventions should be non-invasive except where necessary for an animal's recovery or improvement in health.
• Scientifically viable and non-harmful teaching methods. These can be animal-free for all teaching methods apart from training veterinarians and vet nurses and other animal care professions as there will be a point in the training process that students need to be exposed to live animals - just like human doctors and surgeons. Using animals for veterinary purposes should – and can – match the use of human patients in research that will benefit humans: ethically and without harming any individual.
• Observational or behavioural research on free-living and sanctuary animals where participation is voluntary. This would involve the voluntary or passive participation of the subject where research methods are compatible with the subject's natural habits.
• Research, testing or teaching that is done for conservation purposes of the species involved in the study. These methods will exclude harmful interventions which would result in pain, injury, or death.

It is important to clarify that:

• We are fully opposed to and aim to abolish the use of animals to try and predict the human response to drugs and disease.
• We do not support research that significantly harms individuals, even when a conservation benefit may accrue. These or other benefits should be pursued through non-harmful research.
• The use of animals for the purpose of enhancing the animal agricultural industry is also something that we do not support. Rather than doing research and testing on animals to try and make them more productive for alleged human benefit, we should focus our efforts on eliminating the exploitation of animals. 

You can learn more about the animal-free scientific methods that we back here.

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Our small team has achcieved a lot of big wins over the years, thanks to the help of our wonderful supporters! Most notably NZAVS has;

• Colabortated with the animal science and research industry to urge them to replace their harmful use of animals. This lead to Massey University to publish a Statement of Intent to publicly show it is ‘committed to replacing the use of animals for science, wherever possible, as technology permits.’
• Following our Out of the Labs campaign we have rehomed hundreds of animals used or bred for science in Aotearoa.
• Our Forced Swim Test campiagn effectivly ended the use of this cruel and invalid test in NZ.
• Delivered a petition with more than 22,000 signatures to parliament to ask the government to make better decisions for animals in RTT.
• Joined forces with Humane Society International and HUHA to ban the testing of cosmetics on animals in NZ.
• Secured a government ban on testing psychoactive substances on animals.
• Successfully lobbied decision-makers resulting in the explicit requirement for the Draize Test to be removed from NZ law.
• Gifted our kids book about animal testing to all schools in Aotearoa.
• Rallied our supporters to stop the use of live sheep in a training workshop.

Read more about these supporter fueled victories here!

‍Vivisection is the practice of cutting into or using invasive techniques on live animals. It is commonly called animal experimentation.

What is animal experimentation?

Animal experimentation is the use of animals for claimed scientific purposes where animals are forced to undergo procedures that are likely to cause them pain, injury or death, and that is not meant to benefit the individual animal involved.

Animal experimentation is often detrimental to the individual animals involved and can include:

• Forcing animals to inhale toxic substances
• Force-feeding or injecting animals with potentially lethal substances
• Subjecting animals to situations whereby they are deprived of their basic needs (food, water, shelter, sunlight, air, companionship)
• Putting animals in terrifying situations to create depression and anxiety
• Creating illness, disease or injury deliberately by subjecting healthy animals to invasive medical procedures such as removing organs or tissues.
• Killing animals to use their bodies in dissections.
• Purposefully breeding animals to create offspring that are more susceptible to disease, pain or distress during their life.

At NZAVS, we work tirelessly to end animal experimentation in Aotearoa, New Zealand by:

• Advocating - for the use and funding of scientifically viable and ethical, animal-free research, testing and teaching methods.
• Lobbying - for policy and legal changes, as well as changes to the systems that use animals for research, testing, and teaching methods.
• Collaborating - with as many decision-makers and key stakeholders as we can, at all levels, to influence and create positive long-term change for animals used in research, testing and teaching.
• Educating - to help change cultural, societal, and organisational behaviour and attitudes towards using animals in research, testing and teaching.

You will see that the team at NZAVS will sometimes use the term "animal testing" and at other times "animal experimentation". Though these terms both relate to vivisection, there is important differences between the two.

Animal Testing

This refers to the use of animals to test products, or hazardous substances.  Cosmetics, chemicals or medicines are often tested on animals as a flawed attempt to test their efficacy or safety.

Animal Experimentation

When we talk about animal experimentation we refer to the wider use of animals outside of product testing. Examples include:

• Using animals in an attempt to mimic human diseases
• Develop new treatments
• Study how much an animal can grow on a particular diet.

Experimentation also includes research into basic biological functions like breathing, reflexes, pain or hormones, as well as the study of various aspects of animals like their cognition, reasoning abilities or place in the ecosystem (including the best ways to get rid of some).

There are unfortunatly many barriers preventing the progress of animal free methods.

1. Outdated laws and regulations: Laws still require animal testing, blocking non-animal methods from being used.‍
2. Lack of funding: No dedicated funding for non-animal methods means no incentive for progress.‍
3. Lack of transparency: Harmful research that would cause outrage happens behind closed doors, hidden from the public eye. ‍
4. Risk-averse decision making: Decision-makers are hesitant to step away from the status quo and embrace animal-free and human-relevant science.‍
5. Financial interests: The animal experimentation industry is a global multi-billion-dollar industry, meaning many stakeholders benefit from the existence of animal experimentation.‍
6. Public misconceptions: Many people still believe animal testing is necessary to save lives, but human-focused, animal-free methods are outperforming outdated animal models.
7. ‍The ease of animal-based research: It is easier to apply for and plan animal-based research than to organise trials with humans, and ethics approval for animal experiments is rather easy to get.‍
8. Publish-or-perish: Research relying on animals is prioritised and sometimes required by journals, reviewers and funders, pressuring researchers to use animal methods if they want to advance their careers.‍
9. Developing animal-free methods isn’t a priority: Lack of incentives, funding, and strategy leaves the use and development of animal free methods sidelined.

The use of animals in cosmetic testing was banned in Aotearoa in 2015, but unfortunately there are many other ways animals are experimented on here.

Research: Animals are used as models in biological and medical research to study human disease, injury, development, psychology, anatomy and physiology.

They are also used in:

• Veterinary research (this includes research relating to companion animals and animals used in farms).
• Basic biological research (the study of living things and their processes).
• Animal husbandry research.
• Environmental management research.
• Research into species conservation.

Testing: Animals are subject to tests to try and assess the safety, efficacy or quality of products, chemicals and other substances.

Teaching: Animals are used in dissections, demonstrations and other teaching exercises in schools, universities and other tertiary institutes.

For more information on how different animals are used in NZ, see our case studies page here.

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The numbers fluctuate, but around 300,000 animals are used for research, testing and teaching every year in Aotearoa.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) gathers statistics on not only how many animals were used, but also;

• How many were killed after use
• How many were bred and killed without being used
• What kind of study they were used for
• Where they were sourced from
• Where they were used.

You can see a breakdown of each years numbers on our Statistics page here.

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Simple ways you can help animals today:

1. Subscribe to our mailing list and join our calls to action (like signing petitions)
2. Reduce your animal consumption - there is a big connection between animal experimentation and animal consumption
3. Educate your friends and family on animal replacement alternatives (add link to BFR)
4. Use our resources about animal-free education in schools (link to resources)
5. Lobby your local MP/government for change
6. Buy cruelty-free
7. Opt out of dissections at your school/university (link to resources)
8. Don't donate money to organisations that support or conduct animal experiments

Ways to support NZAVS:

1. Donate to NZAVS via our website
2. Donate and vote on My Giving Circle- the platform that provides chairties with grants!
3. Buy our merchandise
4. Fundraise through Raisley - host a bake sale or do a fun run and donate the proceeds to us!
5. Become a member of NZAVS and vote at our Annual General Meetings
6. Leave a gift in your will
7. Donate via IRD payroll giving