At an award ceremony being held in London today, two groups shared the £50,000 Lush Training Prize for making ‘outstanding contributions’ to training researchers in non-animal methods.
The winners were:
- The Institute for In Vitro Sciences, USA – for their work on training researchers from Brazil to China
- InterNICHE, co-ordinated from the UK – for their training work in former Soviet states, South America and Africa
The new annual Lush Training Prize, a joint project between the global handmade cosmetics company and Ethical Consumer magazine, is designed to bring forward the date when products and chemicals are no longer tested on animals.
The Training Prize provides a useful illustration of the extent of animal testing in emerging economies and the importance for campaigners of moving into these new regions.
Rob Harrison from the Lush Prize said:
“Lush Prize winners in 2012 have included scientists, campaigners, lobbyists, training specialists and young researchers from eight countries. All these people play a vital role in the global movement to replace animal testing with methods that are now widely accepted to be both more humane and effective.”
Every year, it is estimated that more than 100 million animals – including mice, rabbits and rats – are used in testing laboratories around the world.