In 2023, Humane Research Australia officially became Animal-Free Science Advocacy. We have experienced a year of meaningful progress in our mission to advocate for animal-free science in Australia. Â
Read on to discover more about our achievements, including the publication of influential resources. Our successful fundraising efforts reflect a growing awareness and support for our cause.
We’ve had a HUGE year with a lot of wins for #animals. Thank you for helping us to end #animalexperiments and #animaltesting in #Australia. Read all about our achievements for 2023 on the website and help us to do even more in 2024! @animalfreesci https://animalfreescienceadvocacy.org.au/2023-achievements/
Milestones, Victories & Key Events
- We uncovered unexpected primate deaths at the Gippsland primate breeding facility, now under investigation with the state regulator.
- With more frequent social media posts and more engaging website content in contrast to the previous period, we saw an almost 500% increase in new users to our website. There was an 18% increase in website engagement, and an increase of almost 1500% of new website users referred from HRA social media. Needless to say, we are proud of these results.
- We joined a coalition of animal protection groups campaigning for an end to the forced swim test.
- We continued to publish case studies to profile both animal and non-animal based research conducted in Australia.
- We were present with a stall at the Doctors for Nutrition Conference.Â
- We underwent a complete rebrand of our public-facing channels including a new logo, name and colours along with corresponding marketing collateral, social media, website and publications.
- We welcomed Athena to the team as our Campaigns and Marketing Manager and are pleased to have Elizabeth van Ekert join in a consultancy position. She will be reviewing animal ethics committees and opportunities for reform.
- We published a bulletin on breast cancer research.
- We created a web resource for the medical regulatory industry.
- In late 2023, we made progress with the research industry. The National Health and Medical Research Council issued policy statements restricting funding for the Forced Swim Test and Smoke Inhalation research. They have found these tests to be ethically and scientifically unjustifiable.Â
- We were on a panel presenting about non-animal research methods at AusBiotech conference.
- We smashed our fundraising target with our EthicalJobs.com.au matched fundraising campaign, raising at total of approximately $21,000 AUD.
- On World Laboratory Day for Animals, we held a webinar along with animal law expert Sarah Margo about the legal protection of animals used in research and why we should be hopeful for the future. Â
- We created guidelines and a video summary for media to help them accurately report on animal research.
- We attended the World Congress for Alternatives in the Life Sciences.
- Our CEO presented on the ethical considerations of dissection at the Australian Science Teachers Association conference.
- We met with our Western Australian members at a WA members event.
- We advertised our website resource ‘Better Ways To Do Research’ to students in the Monash Student Union in Melbourne.
- We joined a working group about rehoming pets including dogs and cats used in research.
- We were sad to say goodbye to Leo the Cat whose story captivated many people after he was rescued from a lab and lived out his life in happiness and peace. Recently he died of old age, however his legacy lives on in the form of a children’s book about his life. You can buy it here.Â
Help us to do more in 2024
2023 was a busy and exciting year of wins and developments. The new year of 2024 looks to be brimming with even more opportunities and hopefully more wins to come. If you would like to help us to do more please donate or become a member below.Â
