One of the BUAV’s mission is to create change in policy, legislation and practice by influencing decision-makers.
A small change in Government policy has the potential to impact on the lives of millions of animals. The ban on the testing of cosmetics on animals in 1997 was the result of a small change in the policy of one Government department. There was no need for a change in the law, which is a process that can take many years, so the impact of the change in policy on animals lives was instant.
In our Clean Up Cruelty campaign, we are calling for a similar policy change to be introduced, so that no more licences are issued for the testing of these products on animals, and are working closely with policy makers and politicians from all parties to make this happen.
In order to make a real change to current policy, every year the BUAV attends large numbers of meetings with the people that are responsible for policy making to make sure that the issue of animal experimentation is at the top of their agenda.
Some meetings are with high profile politicians, asking them to include our policies in their party’s plans. These meetings are often reported in our newsletters and on the website and are really important in terms of raising the profile of the BUAV as a serious lobbying organization. If we can succeed in getting a political party to adopt one of our policies, the chances of it getting put into practice greatly increase. We are currently in discussion with each of the main three political parties about the inclusion of our policies in their manifestos for the next general election.
Many more meetings happen quietly behind the scenes. We regularly meet with the people directly responsible for putting new policies together, including civil servants and party officials, to make sure that our views are represented and included.
Although it is not always done in the public eye, changing policy is vitally important if we are to meet our aim of creating a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals.