Lobbying Prize

The Prize aims to reward the work of exceptional individuals, groups or organisations pushing for change, focusing on policy interventions promoting the use of alternatives.

The Lobbying Prize is not a 3Rs prize but a 1R prize. By this we mean it is only seeking projects working on replacements (rather than reduction and refinement) and seeks to avoid funding projects or initiatives linked to animal testing in other ways.

Scientific innovation needs to go hand-in-hand with policy change to ensure that end-users of new testing approaches – industry and regulators – are receptive and responsive to the new methods.

Such change requires a multifaceted, global approach, including science-based lobbying at the national level or supra-national level to:

  • Entrench non-animal testing methods in national, EU or OECD programmes of test guidelines
  • Revise existing guidelines to reflect best practices, including the removal of animal tests, or
  • Achieve a mandatory requirement for non-animal testing in legislation, regulatory policies, testing guidance, etc.

There is a £50,000 prize fund shared between all the winners of the Lobbying Prize.

 

Other Award

 
There is also a separate Recognition Award (non-financial) for politicians taking up the issue of animal experimentation. The Political Achievement award is open to elected political officials in any country and is in recognition of the essential work politicians do to create lasting legal change for animals and science.

 

Entering

 
Entries for the next prize cycle are due to open in 2025.

Stay up to date about entry dates and other news by signing up for occasional email updates about the Prize:



 

Previous Winners

 

2024 Prize

ISO/TC-194/WG8, Switzerland, £50,000
Project: Build the consensus for regulatory acceptance of non-animal methods (NAMs) for medical devices.

2022 Prize

The New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society (NZAVS), Aotearoa/New Zealand, £50,000
Project: Removal pf the social license of the notorious Forced Swim Test in NZ.
www.nzavs.org.nz/

2020 Prize

Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST), Taiwan (£50,000)
Project: Erasing mandatory animal testing requirements and prioritising non-animal testing methods in the chemical registration process.
east.org.tw

Also commended:
Medical Device In Vitro Irritation Team (MD-IV-IT), USA
Project: In Vitro Irritation Testing of Medical Devices.

2018 Prize

Brazilian Network for Humane Education (RedEH), Brazil (£50,000)
For ending animal use in classroom experiments.
http://instituto1r.org/project/rede-nacional-de-educacao-humanitaria-redeh

Also commended:
Dr Jeoung Ae Han, Member of National Assembly, South Korea
Passage of major chemical law (K-REACH) reform requiring prioritization of 1R replacement alternatives to animal testing.

 

2017 Prize

Joint winners:
USA, (£50,000)
The HSLF, HSUS and PCRM lobbying efforts to replace the use of animals during reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act paid off in the final bill, which includes a requirement to preferentially use non-animal methods before animal test.
The Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) http://www.hslf.org
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) http://www.humanesociety.org
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) http://www.pcrm.org

2016 Prize

1R Institute, Brazil (£40,000)
The 1R Institute of Promotion and Research for the Replacement of Animal Experimentation is in contact with students in Brazil to spread the non-animal resources and also to promote new alternative methods for education and research projects.
http://www.Instituto1R.org

People for Animals, India (£10,000)
People for Animals strongly believe that the sacrifice of millions of lives in laboratories is entirely unnecessary. They were instrumental in establishing a regulatory body (CPCSEA) that resulted in a 30% reduction in the use of animals in the Indian medical industry.
http://peopleforanimalsindia.org

2015 Prize

Mojo Mathers MP, New Zealand
A Green Party MP, Mojo Mathers has been a leading figure in the political campaign to ban cosmetics testing on animals in NZ. Mojo very kindly declined the financial part of the Lush Prize for Lobbying, allowing the judges to reward that money to an additional Young Researcher to assist their career in science without using animals.

2014 Prize

Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, Germany
The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT-Europe), housed at the University of Konstanz (Germany), brings together industry representatives, regulators, and academics to address the needs for human-relevant alternative methods to animal testing.
http://cms.uni-konstanz.de/leist/caat-europe/

New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society
The New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society (NZAVS) is a campaign group that opposes all animal testing. It achieves this through research, education, public awareness and political lobbying.
www.nzavs.org.nz

Winning in 2014 gave the NZ AVS the funds to develop new projects to protect animals in Aotearoa. Tara Jackson encourages anyone working to end animal testing to nominate for a Lush Prize.

 

2013 Prize

The International Council on Animal Protection in OECD Programmes (£40,000)
For their successful work with the OECD, now a world leader in the promotion of non-animal methods, approaches and policies.
http://www.icapo.org/

The Swedish Fund for Research Without Animal Experiments (£10,000)
For their work with Swedish regulators to replace animal testing.
http://www.forskautandjurforsok.se

2012 Prize

Humane Society International, USA (£40,000)
For their work on removing animal tests from the EU’s non-food pesticide regulations
http://www.hsi.org

Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), India (£5,000)
For their research and lobbying on animal testing in India
http://www.fiapo.org 

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India (£5,000)
For their work with Indian regulators on a cosmetics testing ban
http://www.petaindia.com