Geoffrey Deckers Award winners help to end University’s use of animals
The work of 2023 Geoffrey Deckers Award winners, Campaigns and Activism for Animals in the Industry (CAAI), will save 500 animals every year after the University of Forestry in Sofia ended the use of animals in its physiology and pathophysiology departments.
This decision, which comes into immediate effect, has been made as a direct result of the Bulgarian University’s collaboration with CAAI in organising the country’s first-ever conference on ‘Science Without Animal Experiments’ in October 2023 – an event funded by their prize for winning the Geoffrey Deckers Award.
The agreement, signed by the University’s Veterinary Faculty and CAAI, along with Ärzte Gegen Tierversuche and the International Network for Humane Education (InterNICHE), will protect frogs, mice, rats and rabbits from use for education purposes. This reflects, the University says, its ‘commitment to the advancement of veterinary science while maintaining the highest standards of animal welfare and protection’.
As part of the agreement, the Veterinary Faculty will receive computers and specialised software to help improve the students’ knowledge and encourage an interactive approach to both learning and science.
The department will also receive a Critical Care Jerry, a full-sized training model of a dog. The mannequin costs over £5,000 and can simulate 14 types of breathing and heart problems in dogs, as well as replicate routine procedures such as taking a pulse, drawing blood, locating fractures and bandaging wounds. Learning to diagnose heart conditions and other canine diseases using live dogs can take up to 10 years, making this new equipment an invaluable addition which will not only reduce suffering and improve learning but save the faculty time and resources too.
CAAI’s Vladimir Nguyen says: “We are extremely glad that the Veterinary Faculty of UF has decided to implement innovative approaches without the use of animals as part of its training. We thank the dean of the faculty, Prof. Krasimira Genova, and the Rector of UF, Assoc. Prof. Hristo Mihailov, for signing the contract for joint cooperation. This will save the lives of 500 animals every year.
“Veterinary science exists to improve the lives of animals, and this decision is further confirmation of that. We hope that more universities at home and abroad will follow the example of the University of Forestry and introduce ethical and modern solutions in their curricula.”
Bulgaria has for several years led the EU in the percentage of animals used for educational purposes, with usage ranging from 12-to-50-times higher than most other EU member states.
Our Deputy Director of Science and Regulatory Affairs, Laura Rego Alvarez, gave a presentation detailing the number of animals currently being used in Bulgaria and across the EU for the purposes of education and training, and highlighted the need for a targets-based strategy to phase out the use of animals for education and training and all other scientific purposes across the EU.
Over 120 people attended the conference, including Professors and students from Universities across Bulgaria as well as lecturers from the UK, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, USA, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Geoffrey Deckers award was launched in 2020, to recognise groups working to end animal testing in the European Union, in honour of the much respected and loved former Chair of the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments and Cruelty Free Europe, who passed away in June 2020. Geoffrey was a dedicated animal protection campaigner who co-founded Dutch animal protection group, Diervriendelijk Nederland, in 1998. He went on to lead many successful campaigns in the Netherlands, across Europe and beyond.
CAAI’s Vladimir Nguyen says: “We are extremely glad that the Veterinary Faculty of UF has decided to implement innovative approaches without the use of animals as part of its training. We thank the dean of the faculty, Prof. Krasimira Genova, and the Rector of UF, Assoc. Prof. Hristo Mihailov, for signing the contract for joint cooperation. This will save the lives of 500 animals every year.
“Veterinary science exists to improve the lives of animals, and this decision is further confirmation of that. We hope that more universities at home and abroad will follow the example of the University of Forestry and introduce ethical and modern solutions in their curricula.”
Bulgaria has for several years led the EU in the percentage of animals used for educational purposes, with usage ranging from 12-to-50-times higher than most other EU member states.
Our Deputy Director of Science and Regulatory Affairs, Laura Rego Alvarez, gave a presentation detailing the number of animals currently being used in Bulgaria and across the EU for the purposes of education and training, and highlighted the need for a targets-based strategy to phase out the use of animals for education and training and all other scientific purposes across the EU.
Over 120 people attended the conference, including Professors and students from Universities across Bulgaria as well as lecturers from the UK, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, USA, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Geoffrey Deckers award was launched in 2020, to recognise groups working to end animal testing in the European Union, in honour of the much respected and loved former Chair of the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments and Cruelty Free Europe, who passed away in June 2020. Geoffrey was a dedicated animal protection campaigner who co-founded Dutch animal protection group, Diervriendelijk Nederland, in 1998. He went on to lead many successful campaigns in the Netherlands, across Europe and beyond.