The Bosnia and Herzegovina-based organisation are previous winners of the award, and their work to end animal testing at the Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy Faculties at the University of Sarajevo continues to save animals from suffering and serve as an example of the practical achievements that can be driven by tireless advocacy and creative campaigning. 

The work of EVA has seen the University, the most prestigious in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the largest in the Balkans, introduce humane alternatives to the use of animals in both Faculties and the signing of agreements that prohibit the practice of using animals in the future. 

The funding granted by the award will allow EVA to continue its work with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine to launch its new Simulation Lab and integrate the principles of humane science into its courses. They will also expand their work to encourage biomedical faculties at the University of Sarajevo and other Universities across the country to adopt and promote non-animal science. This will include workshops and education materials on non-animal science, building on the collaboration that has already been established with key faculties within the University. 

EVA hope that the Simulation Lab will become a national hub for humane science, and will help to build similar relationships with academic institutions across Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Alongside this, the Faculty of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Sarajevo will complete its transition to non-animal approaches, by updating its coursework modules and teaching methods. 

EcoVegAnimals was founded in 2019 and have won the Geoffrey Deckers Award in 2021, 2024 and 2025. They have previously established a regular conference in partnership with the University of Sarajevo, to promote non-animal science, which is attended by experts, regulators, academics and students from across Europe, and organised a public awareness campaign on the suffering of animals in laboratories. 

The annual award was launched in 2020 by Cruelty Free Europe in honour of the co-founder of Dutch animal protection group, Een Dier Een Vriend (now Diervriendelijk Nederland) and former Chair of both the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments and Cruelty Free Europe, who tragically died in June 2020. Deckers led many successful campaigns in the Netherlands, across Europe and beyond. Most notable was his work to end the use of chimpanzees in biomedical research in the Netherlands, which saw the last chimps kept in European laboratories transferred to a sanctuary in 2006.   

Past recipients of the Geoffrey Deckers award include Bulgarian group CAAI (Campaigns and Activism for Animals in the Industry), Növényi Forradalom (Plant Revolution) based in Hungary, and SAFRIreland. 

SAFRIreland’s work towards ending Botulinum Toxin (Botox) testing in Ireland was recognised in 2024, leading to the introduction of a bill to end Botox testing on animals to the Irish Parliament.   

After receiving the 2023 award, CAAI organised an international conference on animal testing in education, ‘Conference on Innovations in Education – Science Without Animal Experiments’, in Sofia. The event was the first of its kind in Bulgaria – the country which uses the most animals in experiments for educational purposes in Europe – and was attended by lecturers from across Europe and the USA, as well as students, animal protection organisations, scientists, and other stakeholders. As a result of the conference, Sofia’s University of Forestry has ended its use of animals in education.   

Winners in 2022, Növényi Forradalom (Plant Revolution) used the prize to recruit new staff members to implement campaigns and organise rescue missions for wild animals held in captivity in the Ukrainian warzone. They had previously led a social media campaign to support the ‘Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics’ European Citizens’ Initiative, which helped Hungary pass their threshold for signatures as part of a total of 1.2 million signatures across Europe.   

Our Head of Public Affairs, Dylan Underhill, said: “EVA have set exceptional standards in their work to end animal testing, and we congratulate them on another deserved award. They are making an invaluable impact in their region by delivering practical and tangible change from which we can all learn. We very much look forward to continuing our work with them. 

“Geoffrey brought inspirational passion and energy to all of his work, leading many successful campaigns across Europe which still inspire us today. We now begin the search for our 2027 winners, with a desire to promote and empower the work of organisations who deliver change in the challenging political circumstances of our time and drives us towards the end of animal testing in Europe.”