ISSN 2043-9776
ANNUAL REVIEW A year on the front line for animals: campaigns, investigations, research, rescues and more in 2012
Animal Defenders International Lord Dowding Fund for Humane Research National Anti-Vivisection Society
Overview Animal Defenders International National Anti-Vivisection Society Lord Dowding Fund Millbank Tower, Millbank, LoNDoN, SW1P 4QP, UK. Tel: +44 (0)20 7630 3340 Animal Defenders International US 6100 Wilshire Blvd., #1150, LoS ANGELES, CA 90048, USA. Tel. +1 323 935 2234 Animal Defenders International SA Apartado Postal 359888 BoGoTÁ, Colombia. Tel. +57 317 818 8740 www.ad-international.org www.navs.org.uk www.ldf.org.uk Board: Ms A. Brice Mr N. Brice Ms D. Cooper Ms J. Creamer Ms P. Dibley (Chair) Mr T. Phillips Ms M. Windebank (Vice-Chair) Chief Executive: Jan Creamer Campaigns Director: Tim Phillips Auditors: Mathie, Neal, Dancer & Co. Bankers: Unity Trust Bank Solicitors: Bindmans; Keystone Law. © 2013 Animal Defenders International. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced for commercial purposes by any means whatsoever without written permission.
Chief Executive’s Overview 2012 was a year when we stretched ourselves to the limit, leading campaigns to end research on primates, testing of household products and cosmetics, on animals in entertainment, advertising, circuses and a range of wildlife issues. In Europe we have secured a system of official ‘thematic review’ of animal tests, to set targets for replacement with non-animal methods and pressed to get CCTV into laboratories. Our ‘Good Charities Guide’ remains the definitive guidance for those who wish to give to charity, without funding animal research. A beagle breeding factory was successfully blocked, and World Day for Laboratory Animals, founded by the National Anti-Vivisection Society 34 years ago, continues to inspire people to action around the world. The global ‘Stop Circus Suffering’ campaign continues to encourage governments to take action to protect animals from the brutality of circus life. We have over 20 national bans on animal circuses around the world and these have been secured with hard-hitting evidence from investigations. Although we have been stretched physically, mentally and financially, in 2012 we celebrated a ban on animal circuses in Greece and Paraguay; got closer to the UK Government ban (a Bill has since been drafted); gained momentum in the US and Colombia moved towards a ban. Many local city councils have banned in Ireland, the US, UK and elsewhere. Undoubtedly, we set the bar for ourselves when we persuaded the people of Bolivia to ban their animal circuses and then work with us to rescue and relocate the animals. We took a film crew with us on the rescue and this has been turned into a feature documentary, ‘Lion Ark’, due for film festival release this year. Lion Ark not only tells the story of an animal rescue, but through an enjoyable action adventure, the audience comes away understanding why animal circuses are wrong. The film shows why humans must review our relationship with the other species sharing our planet and what drives ADIers to dedicate our lives to changing the world and protecting animals. You can learn about Lion Ark at: www.lionarkthemovie.com Read this review of our work for the past year and be inspired to help us! There is no greater achievement than helping ADI to change the world and save animals. Whether it is a much needed donation, or organising an event for ADI, you can make a difference. For the animals
Jan Creamer Chief Executive
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Who we are
Who we are What we do Animal Defenders International exists to change the way the world thinks about animals – those members of other species who are obliged to share their home planet with us – we are the neighbours. Our greatest desire is to be effective and make a difference. Making a difference for individual animals in distress, as well as for the future survival of whole species, takes a combination of tools and strategies and they need to work in harmony. ADI’s recipe for success is hard work, research, determination and using our imagination to take a different approach when it is needed.
In 2012 we presented Bob Barker with the Lord Houghton Award for Services to Animal Welfare.
This has resulted in our unique combination of undercover investigations, scientific and economic research, legal analysis and funding of non-animal research methods. This work produces our films and videos, reports, detailed briefings and public awareness campaigns. Together, Animal Defenders International, the National Anti-Vivisection Society (the world’s premier anti-vivisection group) and the Lord Dowding Fund for Humane Research have become a powerful combination to save animals from suffering – and benefit science, too. Our staff are small teams in London UK, Bogota Colombia and Los Angeles USA, and we work with a network of ADI partners across the globe.
Finding scientific solutions.
We are working for a world in the future, where an organisation like ADI is no longer unnecessary.
US Congress: Taking campaigns to governments around the world.
Campaigns
Animal Experiments We believe that animal experiments are unreliable, unethical and unnecessary; we argue our case using our investigations, scientific analysis of animal research papers, discussing the flaws and the advanced, modern methods that can replace animals.
A new laboratory beagle factory farm was blocked at both local and national level.
Over the past decade there have been important developments in the European Union (EU) over the use of animals in research, and this has dominated our time. The EU is a huge international market with influence on the scientific community worldwide. Change in Europe reverberates around the world – for example multinational companies wanting to sell their products in the EU. A major task was Europe’s revision of the twenty-year-old European Directive on animal experiments – the law governing animal experiments in 27 countries of the EU. Eight years of education and persuasion established the primate phase out, the thematic reviews of animal experiments with timetables for replacement, public accountability and other measures. At the same time, the European ban on cosmetics testing on animals continued to progress. The final phase was the complete ban on the marketing of all animal tested cosmetics in the EU, coming into force in March 2013. The third major campaign has been the European Chemicals Directive; original proposals would have meant an extra 30 million animals killed in chemical tests. These numbers were reduced and companies were forced to share data. However this is an area of animal use that will require constant monitoring and pressure.
We exposed the mass production of genetically modified laboratory animals.
This long-term work saves hundreds of thousands of animals every year and forces industry and governments to develop advanced, non-animal methods for testing products.
Some key activity in 2012 ●
Jan gets the message across outside the British Parlaiment with Jim Dowd MP.
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A cat awaits her fate in a laboratory.
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Thematic Review: Secured as an ADI/NAVS amendment in the European Parliament to the new EU Directive on animal experiments. We are closer to the first-ever legal mechanism to challenge and replace animal experiments. This principle will be incorporated into national laws in all 27 countries of the EU, and using the influence of the UK is vital. Freedom of information on animal experiments: Since we instigated the campaign for greater transparency in the early 1990s this issue has gathered momentum and we secured a commitment within the EU Directive. The UK’s current ‘secrecy clause’ is being reviewed, and this will be incorporated across the EU. CCTV Monitoring of labs: We pressed the British Government for CCTV monitoring of animal laboratories. We highlighted where CCTV could protect animals and enable effective investigation
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of reported abuses. Even animal laboratories now acknowledge the need for greater transparency. As yet, the UK Government has delayed its decision, so this work continues. ●
Laboratory monkeys: See “My Mate’s a Primate”, p.7.
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Charities guide: The most thoroughly researched guide; tells you which charities do, or do not, experiment on animals.
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Beagle breeder blocked: We submitted evidence to the inquiry and local planning permission was denied for the B&K Universal beagle factory. They appealed to government but their appeal was denied.
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World Day for Laboratory Animals, 24 April: Since we founded this day of commemoration, it is now marked on every continent. We organise different activities around the world each year.
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For ten years the opportunities to impact the lives of laboratory animals have been in the European Union. We ensured we were there, influencing the new European Directive on animal experiments. The Directive is being incorporated into national laws in all 27 countries of the Union. Although there is much more to be done we must make sure the little protection the animals have is actually enforced. And we must continue to fight to ensure animals are replaced with nonanimal methods.
Campaigns
Kick animal testing out of the house Guinea pigs with their backs shaved in a painful and cruel skin irritancy test.
Below: A terrified rabbit restrained in stocks during an experiment.
For over thirty years – since we secured the first images of cosmetics tests on animals inside a British laboratory – we have run a multi-faceted campaign to end the suffering. Empowering consumers to make the choice and purchase cruelty-free products has put pressure on companies to stop animal testing. Educating regulators, government officials and parliamentarians with information on animal testing and the alternatives has persuaded them to change. The first major breakthrough was the British Government’s commitment in 1998 to no longer award licences for experiments to test cosmetics. This groundbreaking decision was followed by the European Parliament setting a phase out of cosmetics testing on animals. But there could be no letting up, as attempts were made to delay the replacement of the last animal tests, and the marketing ban. During 2012 we continued to work with the European Commission, urging them to hold firm on the deadlines that had been set. We were delighted when they did so and over 30,000 animals that were used in such tests are now saved every year. The ban was fully implemented in March 2013 and with the prohibition of cosmetics tested on animals outside the EU, it has created a strong incentive and impetus to international cosmetics companies to end their animal testing, or risk losing one of the world’s biggest cosmetics markets. Already ● Bulletswe have pointed out to the US Congress and US companies that this means they will be denied sales in Europe if they do not end animal tests. Importantly, the EU has validated a series of humane alternative tests to replace all the animal tests so this move can be truly far reaching. We continue to urge the British Government and European Parliament to implement a ban on the testing of household products on animals. Disappointingly, a clear commitment to end household tests from the Coalition Government has stalled. This is why we must never give up, always keep coming back and in the end, we can win for animals.
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Campaigns
My Mate’s a Primate ADI’s global campaign highlights the exploitation of our animal cousins, the other primate species, targeting four ways in which other primates are threatened or exploited: as bushmeat; in entertainment; the pet trade; and in experiments. The campaign draws attention to the abuse of these species by highlighting their similarities with ourselves, their intelligence, emotions and cultural habits – enabling people to comprehend their suffering in the context of how they would feel themselves. Almost all of the primate species share more than 90% of their genetic make up with us, with chimpanzees and humans differing by as little as 2% of DNA. ADI believes it is time to extend our compassion beyond our own kind and to the other species who share our world – and what better place to start than with the relatives we have shunned and treated so badly.
New restrictions should phase out the wild capture of monkeys by dealers supplying EU laboratories.
The other species that share this planet are not less than us – just different. They share our love of their life and suffer the travails of life on earth as we do. In the case of primates, they aren’t just our mates..... they’re part of the family. Part of this campaign was the ‘Save the Primates’ campaign in Europe about experiments on primates, including our investigation of primate use at Huntingdon Life Sciences in the UK. This successful campaign has seen some major breakthroughs, including Members of the European Parliament passing a resolution calling for a timetable to phase out all experiments on primates. This is leading to laws in all European Member States to restrict primate experiments and the phase out of primates captured from the wild for experiments. Like all of these measures, it will not be easy to ensure they get implemented and enforced – we have to work hard for it, maintain the pressure, and make more progress to end primate research.
The capture of owl monkeys in Colombia that we exposed was stopped.
Some key activity in 2012 ●
4,000 monkeys saved as hunt is stopped. ADI filmed trapping operations in the Amazon in Colombia, where terrified owl monkeys were captured for malaria experiments. These experiments have been halted by a constitutional court order.
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Prohibition of wild caught monkeys in EU labs: Secured by ADI/NAVS in the new Directive on animal experiments; now becoming law in the 27 member states. We must maintain pressure to ensure the laws are effective.
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Restriction on primate experiments in EU labs: Secured by ADI/NAVS in the new Directive on animal experiments, now becoming law in the 27 member states. But the wording is vague – it is vital that we ensure that some primate experiments are actually prevented.
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Ending supply of primates born of wild caught parents to EU labs: A phase out which would stop dealers constantly stocking their farms with wild caught monkeys and then selling them to EU labs; secured by ADI/NAVS in the new European Directive. Now being passed into national laws in the EU and we must ensure it is done effectively.
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Highlighted the world’s first ‘chimeric’ monkeys created at the Oregon Health and Science University.
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Ten minute rule motion tabled in UK Parliament by Sheryll Murray MP calling for keeping of primates as pets to be prohibited.
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September 1st is International Primate Day, when we highlight the suffering of primates used for entertainment and in laboratories.
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Campaigns
Stop Circus Suffering Our global Stop Circus Suffering campaign is possibly the most successful international animal protection campaign to date, having now been directly responsible for securing legislation banning all animals or wild animals in circuses in multiple countries.
A hippo in a Greek circus - part of the evidence we presented that secured a ban on all animal acts in Greece in 2012.
When we launched our first circus undercover investigation in 1992 and found enormous public, media and political support as a result of people seeing the raw evidence, we knew what to do. With a two-year investigation of eighteen circuses in the UK and Europe, we exposed the horrific abuse and suffering of animals in travelling circuses. In 1998 we successfully prosecuted circus owner and Hollywood animal supplier Mary Chipperfield, her husband Roger Cawley and their elephant keeper, Steve Michael Gills. The footage shot around the world; we sent copies of the video to every local and national animal protection group in the world, urging them to use the footage to seek both local and national bans on animal circuses. We worked with campaigners and started to secure bans around the world. Twenty years on, we are still winning. Stop Circus Suffering takes a multi-faceted evidence based approach, much the same as our work on animal experiments. We’ve continued with more investigations, gathering the evidence, collecting film, photographs and data; researching the scientific papers on animals in captivity and transport. We review social and economic data including undertaking opinion polls and analyse potential impacts on local employment.
Protestor with one of our posters during an event in Colombia.
No stone is unturned in looking for evidence to support our case. Legislators can feel confident that we provide all of the data they need to make an informed judgement. We create awareness that gains public support for prohibitions at local and national levels and persuades people not go to the animal circus. Local bans are secured whilst national legislation is worked on. It often takes multiple attempts to secure legislation even when there is widespread support! We get results because we persevere, for as long as it takes.
Some key activity in 2012 ●
One of the scenes we exposed in South American circuses. Since our investigation and campaign bans have been passed in Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru.
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Paraguay banned wild animals in circuses – following the multinational South America launch in 2007.
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British Government promised a wild animal circus ban. Draft legislation was finally unveiled early 2013.
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CSI actress presents an ADI campaign video, launched in 2012.
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Greece banned all animals in circuses – six years after we launched our drive for national legislation.
US Congress: first Bill to ban wild animals in circuses; introduced 2011 by ADI; Bill closed with Congress for elections in November; due to be re-introduced 2013.
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Local town and city bans were secured in Ireland, US, UK and elsewhere.
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Los Angeles: ADI worked for a wild animal circus ban but sadly this was
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reduced to a prohibition of just elephants – due for vote in 2013. ●
Gerry Cottle backs ban on wild animal acts – one of Britain’s biggest circus proprietors and once an adversary of the campaign, agrees that the use of wild animals is damaging the industry.
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Peru’s enforcement regulations for their ban on wild animals got underway. Regulations have to put our Peru wild animal ban into force; ADI assisting officials to complete the tasks to roll out the ban.
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Great British Circus exposed again: This time it wasn’t our hidden cameras, but that we secured official inspection reports, using the Freedom of Information Act.
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Our investigation exposing the abuse of Anne the elephant changed her life forever. It also opened people’s eyes around the world to circus suffering. It led to British MPs voting overwhelmingly for a ban on wild animal acts. It secured the first circus conviction under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act, including a test case revealing the cruelty caused by the excessive chaining of elephants.
Campaigns
Fur Stop Animals continue to suffer horribly for fashion. Our international Fur Stop campaign gives people the facts about the appalling suffering caused by factory farming of animals for their fur and their painful, miserable deaths. All to satisfy people’s vanity. Before Britain banned fur farming in 2000, our investigators secured footage in almost all of the remaining fur farms. We have continued this work around the world, most recently with a huge investigation of thirty farms in Finland – the world’s biggest supplier of fox fur. A terrible fate awaits this mother and baby on a fur farm.
The harrowing exposé included: animals with open and infected wounds; obvious signs of untreated infection; eyes infected or missing; tails bitten off; deformed and damaged legs; overgrowing gum disease resulting in difficulty eating and drinking; babies with legs stuck through the mesh floor of the cage; dilapidated and dangerous caging and facilities; widespread animal suffering and neglect; empty, dirty and broken water bowls. Our DVD ‘Bloody Harvest’, technical report and leaflets are in English, Italian, French, Spanish, and Hebrew. We are supporting a major drive to secure a fur ban in Israel. The UK, Croatia and Austria have banned fur farming; the Netherlands has prohibited fox and chinchilla farming. Fur Stop is an ongoing campaign to persuade people not to wear fur and to provide the evidence to governments and regulators to encourage them to prohibit this cruelty.
Caged mink on a fur farm.
Our report in Hebrew was presented to the Knessett as Israel consider a ban on fur products.
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Campaigns
Animals in Entertainment During 2012, we highlighted the suffering of animals used in all forms of entertainment, including television, advertising, films and for personal appearances at public events and parties. The glossy images, the beautiful or amusing scenes that cause audiences to smile come at a high price for the animals and commonly, the companies using the animals have been advised by an advertising agency or similar and are unaware that they are contributing to a lifetime of suffering. We contacted companies that used animals in their advertisements, provided information about the species used, met with them and discussed how these animals are kept behind the scenes and importantly, the methods used to make them perform. Using our undercover investigations in Europe and the US, we have been able to show executives of companies using animals in their advertising or for films or public performances, the reality for the animals.
A baby elephant gasps as his trunk is held and is then hit over the head during training at Have Trunk Will Travel, California.
We have found that the majority of companies respond very well and we are steadily increasing the number of major companies who have agreed to introduce a responsible animal policy – an undertaking not to use live animals in future. Our footage inside Have Trunk Will Travel of California, suppliers of elephants for films such as Water for Elephants, Zookeeper and Operation Dumbo Drop, shows the elephants being trained with beatings and electric shocks. The company also uses their elephants for personal appearances (their elephant Tai was once painted by UK artist Banksy and made to stand in an art show), as well as elephant rides for the public at county shows and circuses. We had also secured footage of abuse of an elephant supplied by Trunks & Humps, the biggest supplier of elephant rides in Texas, also a supplier of elephants for rides at county shows. By writing to organisers of all such events nationwide with the evidence and making presentations to the boards of these events, we are steadily closing down these rides. This campaign has been scheduled for a major push in 2013.
Tai the elephant hired out by Have Trunk Will Travel for a parade. Tai was trained with beatings and electric shocks, ensuring she is compliant during these public appearances.
Our footage inside Amazing Animals based in Oxfordshire, UK, a major performing animal supplier, has persuaded advertisers to end the use of wild animals in their productions. Amazing Animals has supplied animals for films such as Harry Potter, advertisements such as monkeys for Vision Express (who subsequently agreed to adopt a responsible animal policy), a male lion used by the Conservative Party in a General Election poster and others.
Some key activity in 2012 ●
Elephant ride victories, US: Over 25 years of elephant rides at the Santa Ana Zoo were cancelled; Orange County Fair, the Los Angeles County Fair and Fountain Valley Recreation Center halted rides and Sierra Madre cancelled a parade appearance by Tai (the HTWT elephant in ‘Water for Elephants’).
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Bullfighting banned in Bogota, Colombia.
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No Hollywood ending for animal movie stars: We tracked down Tai and Rosie –
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elephant stars of Water for Elephants and Zookeeper – and filmed them being forced to perform in the travelling circus. ●
Vision Express announced an ethical animal policy following a meeting with ADI. They will no longer use wild animals in advertising (we had contacted them after they featured a monkey in a TV commercial).
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An oxford nightclub cancelled a zebra appearance, after our protests.
We backed a successful campaign to have bullfighting banned in Bogota, Colombia.
ADI footage inside Amazing Animals, the UK’s biggest supplier of animals for TV and films.
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Research Without Animals
Research Without Animals Neuroscience studies on human volunteers provide data without attempting to extrapolate from a different species. The patient goes home after the test, unlike the monkey on page 5.
Replacement of animals with advanced, non-animal science and technology is saving animals around the world. It convinces governments there is a better way. Although ethics played a significant role in the EU Directive on cosmetics testing, the timetable and phase out was ultimately decided by a strategy of replacing the animal tests with modern, humane techniques. Together NAVS, Lord Dowding Fund and ADI highlight the terrible suffering of laboratory animals, but also show there are more effective, advanced methods for medical and scientific research. For over thirty years, we have not only highlighted the alternatives to animal experiments, we have actively funded the development of replacement techniques through our department, the Lord Dowding Fund for Humane research (LDF). LDF awards grants to scientists conducting research that does not use animals. Projects over the years have included different types of cancer, kidney research, safety testing, microsurgery, toxicity of dental fillings, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia and computer programmes to replace the use of animals in teaching. Successes have included eliminating animals used in pharmacological teaching; a British Standard Test for toxicity of dental fillings; new developments in human cell lines for research; cellular models for studying cancer.
We have developed different ways of undertaking cell culture research and making this type of research more accessible to scientists.
We also undertake promotional work with LDF scientists speaking at universities, conferences and to regulators around the world. In 2012 we funded the first Europe-wide survey of the use of animals in higher education. This revealed that many universities continue to use animals, even when humane alternatives are available, providing information for next steps in Europe.
Some key activity in 2012 ●
Realistic breast cancer in vitro: Using human breast cancer tissue, researchers at Leeds University developed a model of breast cancer and the cells mimic the actions of cells in the human body. This complex tissue culture enables the study of breast and other cancers in a relevant model – helping both animals and humans.
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Brain research data boosted by LDF: LDF funded scientists studied neurodevelopment and pain; the published studies involved scanning brains of human volunteers and have built up evidence to show that invasive research in animals is unnecessary.
A human neural network being examined in an LDF project.
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Success in the development of 3D blood-brain-barrier model: LDF funded scientists have successfully constructed an all human blood-brain-barrier model. This can be used to study the “key pathways” in metastases (how cancer spreads); saving animals and helping people.
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Survey of animal use in university teaching across Europe. Although the computer simulations we have developed have actually eradicated animal use in many universities, our survey revealed disturbing levels of animal use throughout the European Union. This information will help to mobilise legislators and educators across Europe to bring an end to unnecessary animal experiments.
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Animal Rescues
Lion Ark – feature length documentary for cinema release
ADI Campaigns Director Tim Phillips with a rescued lion cub in Lion Ark.
Lion Ark is a vivid behind the scenes account of probably the most ambitious animal rescue ever undertaken. The finale sees 25 lions rescued from illegal circuses across Bolivia being flown to safety in the US. It is scheduled for completion in 2013. The story starts with the revelations of a shocking two-year undercover investigation of animal circuses in South America. The public across the whole continent was shocked and horrified. Education campaigns were launched in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil and others. Bolivia was the first country to introduce a ban on all animals in travelling circuses, but some circuses defied the law. The film shows how the team behind the investigation tracked down the illegal circuses and saved every animal. We follow the confrontations, heartache and risks the team face, before an emotional finale which sees 25 lions airlifted 5,000 miles to freedom in Colorado.
ADI vet Dr Mel Richardson and ADI Chief Executive Jan Creamer during a tense moment in Lion Ark. The film captures what it is really like to undertake an animal rescue in the most difficult circumstances. This really is working without a safety net.
Lion Ark does not pull its punches, showing some footage of animal suffering, nevertheless it is above all else an exciting and joyous film, where the audience gets to know the animals as they root for them. And the animals win! Our aim is that Lion Ark will reach many people who would not normally consider watching an animal protection documentary, and this will be a clear message to governments around the world that strong animal protection measures can be enforced. Keep in touch with the film’s progress at: www.lionarkthemovie.com
Once rescued the lions have a 5,000 mile journey to freedom – Lion Ark is animal rescue on a staggering scale in so many different ways.
Lion Ark does not pull its punches but has a joyous finale as the lions who have suffered so much go free. A feelgood film with a serious message.
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Animal Rescues
Animal Rescues Our animal rescue work is tied to our campaigns. We often rescue animals during our investigations, or take legal action to seize and relocate animals whose plight we have exposed. Ideally, such as in the case of Bolivia, we get the opportunity to empty a whole country of its circus animals! With increasing numbers of rescued animals in our care, this is becoming a large part of our work. Ten years after we saved him from a circus in Chile we still fund care for Toto.
Some animals can be rehomed with private owners, for example the rats, mice, dogs and chickens we have saved from laboratories. It has also been possible for us to return some primates and other animals to the wild in Colombia and Bolivia. However the majority need care for life. ADI’s approach to the lifetime care of these rescued animals is unique, in that we form a partnership with the sanctuaries providing the day to day care, and we fund the costs of facilities, veterinary care and living expenses for the rest of the animals’ lives. We work in partnership with some of the best sanctuaries in the world – sanctuaries that set the gold standard for how captive wildlife should be kept. For example, ADI has invested three quarters of a million dollars in the two sanctuaries caring for the Bolivian lions. In other sanctuaries, we have constructed quarantine facilities, night houses, enclosures as well as ongoing care costs. So our regular appeals to supporters to help care for our adopted rescue animals are born of a real need to cover their living costs – the Bolivian lions in the US and our remaining lions in South Africa cost us in the region of £65,000 a year.
Boo and Betty saved from a Swedish laboratory.
It is urgent that we raise more funds for this work if we are to continue undertaking the remarkable rescues that we have proved to be so effective at – and using these rescues to change the way that people think about animals.
Animals currently in our care It was with great sadness that dear Dactari passed away in late 2012, due to a heart condition. One of the first four lions we rescued in Bolivia, he was a wonderful good natured lion who loved life and enjoyed nothing more than playing with his companions Bambek and Simba.
Tim the horse - saved from a Bolivian circus.
31 Lions Caesar and Sarah rescued from a circus in Portugal; Camba, Simba and Bambek from the only circus in Bolivia to voluntarily hand over their animals following the ban; Hercules, Kiara, Panchula, Fida, Bob, Nancy, Percy, Bam Bam, Morena, Campeon, Rosa, Rosita, Rosario, Maria, Marta, Colo Colo, Muñeca, Lulu, Pancho, Temuco, Kenya, Chitara, Dalila,Kimba and India – saved from eight different circuses and a zoo during ADI’s Operation Lion Ark. One chimpanzee Toto saved by ADI from a circus in Chile and transported to Zambia, now living with a group of his own kind – this is the tenth anniversary of his rescue and also represents ten years of providing support to Chimfunshi where he resides. Three macaque monkeys Betty, Baloo and Boo who were handed over to ADI by a Swedish laboratory. Two baboons Tilin saved from a Bolivian circus and Tina from the pet trade in Cyprus.
Tilin rescued from a Bolivian circus.
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Two horses Tim, saved from a circus in Bolivia and Rosita an unwanted horse who joined him; they have now been joined by an orphan foal.
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We are committed to caring for animals we rescue for life. We also ensure that the establishments we work with showcase the gold standard in caring for wildlife.
Legal Cases
Legal Cases Bobby Roberts convicted of cruelty to Anne the elephant
Bobby Roberts looks on as the thug he employed as a groom moves Anne’s chains from one leg to another ensuring she is immobilised for weeks.
The Roberts arrive at court.
In November 2012, ADI secured the first ever cruelty conviction of a circus owner under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (our previous conviction of Mary Chipperfield, her husband Roger Cawley and their elephant keeper Steve Gills, was under the old 1911 Act). However, despite being convicted on all counts Bobby Roberts was given a conditional discharge – no punishment whatsoever. The abuse of Anne caught on camera by ADI was not noticed in repeated official inspections, leaving the British Government’s plans for the interim regulation of circuses in tatters and increasing the calls for a ban. In 2011 ADI investigators recorded what took place inside the animal barn at the winter quarters of Bobby Roberts Super Circus. A sickening catalogue of abuse, chaining and deprivation was recorded. Incidents included Anne, an elderly and severely arthritic elephant, being hit with a metal pitchfork and kicked around the face and body 48 times by workers, who were also seen beating and spitting on a camel and beating miniature ponies and horses. ADI brought charges against the circus owners, Bobby and Moira Roberts. Moira Roberts was subsequently found not guilty on the basis she did not own Anne. The charges were a legal precedent – the first charges on the responsibility of owners for the way their animals are treated in their absence, and the first charges on excessive chaining – she was chained to the ground by two legs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Expert opinion was that Anne probably suffered more from the chaining and isolation than from the physical abuse. Roberts was convicted of failure to take reasonable steps to ensure that Anne was protected from abuse, and for the suffering caused by the chaining. The first conviction of a circus owner under this new Act came at a high cost to ADI. Our legal costs for preparing the evidence for the Crown Prosecution Service exceeded £95,000. However, our investigation and this case have saved Anne and created the momentum for a British ban on wild animals in circuses.
Attempt to overturn UK advertising ban on campaign groups
The ADI legal team present evidence to the European Court of Human Rights.
In March 2012, we presented our case to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in an attempt to overturn a law preventing ADI and NAVS advertising on television in the UK. At present the law effectively bans the broadcast of any advert on a matter of “controversy”. Our case was instigated after our ‘My Mate’s a Primate’ advert was banned from television and radio. It was banned not because of content or accuracy, but because of who we are, as an organisation. Our argument was this infringed our right to free speech – companies can advertise their green or socially responsible claims, but these cannot be challenged in the same medium. The iniquity of the situation was highlighted by the fact that at the same time soft drinks giant Pepsi was using a performing chimpanzee in a TV commercial, whereas ADI’s TV advert creating awareness about the suffering of performing chimpanzees was banned. Unfortunately, in April 2013, the judges voted narrowly by nine to eight to uphold the British ban.
U.S. circus animal export lawsuit
Elephants belonging to Ringlings circus subject of an export related lawsuit.
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ADI has filed a joint lawsuit with PETA in federal district court in Los Angeles against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The suit alleges that FWS illegally issued permits to Feld Entertainment, Inc., parent company of Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus, to export nine endangered Asian elephants and 17 endangered tigers, including to Mexico, where the animals— some of them ailing—are now being forced to perform.
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Investigations
Investigations Our investigations are the bedrock of our campaigns and this evidence has often made the difference in securing legislation and in prosecutions of cruelty cases. Projects can be long term and involve documenting events, filming and photographing animal suffering. It is not by accident that we have been behind so many of the key exposés in the past two decades, it is down to our approach. When the British Government finally unveiled legislation to ban wild animals in circuses in early 2013, it was clear our investigations and the subsequent cruelty prosecutions were a major factor in achieving this goal.
The savagery inflicted on chained Anne that we caught on film shocked the world.
ADI’s original ‘Ugliest Show on Earth’ investigation halved the number of British circuses and the industry never recovered. We distributed hundreds of copies of the report and video to every animal group in the world; the first local and national bans followed as people mobilised. In 2009, as the British Government stalled on its 2006 commitment to ban wild animals – our footage of the beatings inside the elephant tent at the Great British Circus put the issue back on the political agenda. The abuse of these elephants and the fact that they were chained to the ground by two legs for at least 11 hours a day, was not discovered during inspections by Defra, local authority officials, police and RSPCA. In 2011, with the Government seeming to move towards regulation, our exposé of elephant Anne being abused at Bobby Roberts Super Circus sent shockwaves around the world, and Members of Parliament voted that wild animal acts must be banned. In 2011, when Hollywood producers and American Humane hid behind claims that animals suffered no harm for movies, it was our cameras that revealed just how performing animals were trained in facilities in the US and Europe.
A trapper holds an owl monkey destined for vivisection.
ADI’s global investigation of the laboratory primate trade, launched in the European Parliament, saw us infiltrate the monkey trapping gangs of the Amazon; film inside one of Asia’s biggest laboratory monkey dealers and infiltrate Huntingdon Life Sciences, Europe’s biggest monkey testing facility, for 18 months. The evidence we collected was vital in securing new Europe-wide restrictions on the use of primates as well as a commitment to end the wild capture of monkeys for labs. When Colombia’s courts halted the capture of over 4,000 owl monkeys for malaria research last year, it was our field officers who secured the footage that enabled people to see what happened to those animals. We screened the footage in the Colombian Congress. Investigations are a huge commitment; they take a lot of time, effort and money. They are risky. But they are changing the world for animals.
Have Trunk Will Travel owner Kari Johnson beats an elephant.
Our evidence on fur farming has been presented to the Israeli parliament; repeated investigations have won the UK circus ban; we’ve exposed the suffering in a lab specialising in genetic modification, which was key in the call for CCTV in laboratories; secured the bans in Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay and countless local town and city bans worldwide. If it had not been for our investigations, Anne the elephant would still be with Bobby Roberts Super Circus, Trudy the chimpanzee would be living with Mary Chipperfield and many others would still be suffering. The abuse of the elephants at the Great British Circus and laboratory animals like Elisa, Onion and others, would have gone unnoticed and unheard. We are their voice. We are their witness.
Monkey number 88 at HLS known as “Onion”.
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Annual Review 2012
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Supporters & Finances
Supporters & Finances The past four years have seen some of our greatest achievements for our group of organisations. These have included securing prohibitions on animal circuses in both local and national legislation all over the world; shaping the key positive measures in the new laws on animals in laboratories in the EU; keeping the EU cosmetics ban on track and promoting the ethical cruelty-free products choice to consumers around the world – whether it be cosmetics, body care, household products or alternative testing options for medicines. Lion Ark was the biggest lion rescue and law enforcement operation the world has ever seen, and we were responsible for the two largest undercover exposés – the abuse of Anne the elephant and the cruelty behind the Hollywood film Water for Elephants. These achievements are sadly set against the dark backdrop of the worldwide recession. We were heartbroken when in 2011, one of our most successful years ever for animals, we suffered a massive drop in income as the recession bit deep. We were hit in three critical income areas – the value of our precious legacies dropped as house values plummeted, our investments and reserves dropped in value and individual donations from supporters were lower, due to personal financial constraints. With so much work for animals at a critical stage (laws under consideration; major investigations at critical stages) animals lives were in the balance. So we took the radical step and cut costs, reduced staff and committed a large part of our small reserves to pressing on with the campaigns. But we cannot maintain this pace without increasing income. We are taking steps to increase income through mailing appeals to supporters, online fundraising activities and events such as Lion Ark Night, our celebrity Hollywood fundraiser in October 2012. Our supporters have been our lifeblood, responding to our pleas when we have needed action, helping to raise funds and defending animals every day. You have contributed to government consultations on vivisection and circuses, collected money for us, written letters and emails, handed out leaflets and made a difference for animals. Thank you so very, very much. We hope with this explanation of what happened to our animal defenders, you can bear with us over our appeals for donations and help. When times are tough the animals need us, more than ever.
ADI, LDF, NAVS Group finances worldwide 2012 Income: £1,895,756 / $2,938,422
Legacies (54.90%) Donations (10.27%) Fundraising & Merchandise (4.22%) Grant Received (28.93%) Income From Investments (1.53%) Interest & Other Income (0.15%)
Expenditure: £1,689,459 / $2,618,661
Campaigns (includes Investigations, Public Awareness, Advertising, Rescues, Publications) (76.46%) Legal & Professional (2.60%) Bank Charges, Taxation, Depreciation (Corporation Tax, Irrecoverable VAT, Interest) (7.77%) General Office Running Costs (includes rent & rates, fuel & light, telephone, computer/network maintenance, correspondence, photocopying, equipment, insurance, office staff costs) (9.24%)
LDF Research Grants (3.51%) Cost of Merchandise & Prize Draw (includes purchase of (0.42%)
merchandise, delivery charge, raffle tickets printing etc.)
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Annual Review 2012
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A tragic and degrading sight, photographed by our field officers in a Colombian circus last year. Due to our diligently collected evidence and sustained campaigns, this and other suffering is being eliminated. We can only help them with your support. Please help us do more in 2013.
Roll of Honour Legacies left to us in their Wills by our supporters remain our greatest source of income. The undercover investigations, the search for non-animal research techniques, the public education campaigns are all entirely dependent upon this vital funding. The consideration and forethought of these supporters has left a lasting legacy for animals and helps to bring closer the day when animals are free of suffering caused by humans. Here we honour and thank the wonderful people who have given so much to our cause: M M A Archer M J Boxall C D Brick M J Burton W J P Casey M Comri E M Cruttenden E S Davies D H Edwards T P Flynn B K Gann A E Grosso E E Horsnell S J Hunter M M Johnson J P Knowles J J Lilly
M Ling J L Massey P A B Marshall C G Meade V E Morris J E R Parker J Parsons S C Peacock B L Prentis G E Rice H Ruff M D Seymour F H Story D P Tandy V K Toon P Wingett
ADI MISSION: To educate, create awareness, and promote the interest of humanity in the cause of justice, and the suppression of all forms of cruelty to animals; wherever possible, to alleviate suffering, and to conserve and protect animals and their environment.
Animal Defenders International National Anti-Vivisection Society Lord Dowding Fund
NAVS MISSION: To raise the conscience of humanity to the iniquity of painful experiments
Millbank Tower, Millbank, LONDON, SW1P 4QP, UK Tel. +44 (0)20 7630 3340
on animals; to raise awareness that millions of animals suffer and die in cruel, unscientific, and futile experiments, which are unreliable, unethical, and unnecessary.
LDF MISSION: To support and fund better methods of scientific and medical research for testing products and curing disease, which replace the use of animals; to research and publish information to demonstrate that animal experiments are unnecessary and harmful. We are opposed to violence or intimidation whether directed at humans or other animals.
6100 Wilshire Blvd., # 1150, LOS ANGELES, CA 90048, USA. Tel. +1 (323) 935-2234 Apartado Postal 359888 BOGOTà , Colombia. Tel. +57 317 818 8740 www.ad-international.org www.navs.org.uk www.ldf.org.uk