Animal-free research is a viable and ethical replacement for animal testing. We fight for the abolition of animal experimentation and support the implementation of animal-free methods in science.
Mice, dogs, cats, rabbits, monkeys and
others.
Raised for testing or caught in the wild.
Every year, 450,000 animals are used in laboratories in Italy, over 10.5 million in the EU, and 115 million worldwide.
What are they 'used' for?
Animals are subject to testing for drugs, pesticides, detergents, and even foods, as well as for educational purposes.
LAW NO. 26/2014 FOR THE PROTECTION OF LABORATORY ANIMALS
Culminating in years of advocacy, we secured the most progressive law in Europe for laboratory animal protection in 2014. Through Legislative Decree no. 26/2014 on animal experimentation, we implemented significant advancements surpassing the standards of the rest of the European Union
It is no longer possible in Italy to breed dogs, cats, and primates for laboratory purposes (even puppy mills such as Green Hill are no longer legal), to carry out experiments on anthropomorphic apes (chimpanzees, orang-utans, gorillas, gibbons, bonobos) and on all animals for war material. Experiments on animals for teaching purposes are also not permitted, except for university courses for veterinary medicine
While we secured funding for replacement methods during the first three years after the enactment of Law 26/2014 and again from 2020 to 2022, we continue to advocate for their consistent and adequate support to foster their development and wider adoption.
LAW 413/1993 ON THE RIGHT TO CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION
We are the first country in the world to have legally recognized (Law 413 of 1993) the right to conscientious objection to animal testing, both for students and researchers.
GREEN HILL
We rescued over 3000 dogs from a beagle farm. They were bred for laboratory use. By winning in court we were able to shut down the Marshall colossus in Italy. With this result, we marked a milestone in the history of law: an animal rights organisation won for the first time and the need to respect their ethology was recognised even for animals destined for death in laboratories.
3 ITALIAN UNIVERSITIES MADE A GROUNDBREAKING DECISION TO PERMANENTLY CEASE THEIR PRIMATE RESEARCH
In a landmark decision, we persuaded three Italian universities – the University of Modena (16 macaques), the University of Padua (27 macaques), and the University of Verona (3 macaques) – to permanently cease their research involving monkeys and entrust the animals to our care.
All are now hosted at the Animanatura Wild Sanctury in Semproniano , where they have undergone physical and
psychological rehabilitation and now live happily under the watchful eyes of
our primatologists.
This video tells the inspiring tale of three macaque monkeys who were rescued from laboratory experimentation at the University of Verona and entrusted to the loving care of LAV.