Recently, it’s felt as if I haven’t been at my desk much, as we have been taking part in so many great events! It’s always an honour to be invited to speak at events, and at the start of June, I presented at my second UK Animal Law Conference in Birmingham. 

Ensuring Replacement, from the lab to legislation

This year, my talk focused on the use of genetically altered (GA) animals in research in Great Britain, looking at their past, present and future concerns. This is a relatively new area of focus for us as a charity, so this was a great opportunity to share our thoughts and work so far.  

Being a law conference, rather than a science conference, it’s always a slightly different audience for us compared to usual, so we also have to angle our messages slightly differently. Because of this, my main discussion points were around the current use of GA animals under the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, and the potential implications of the new Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 on GA animals, and the existing legislation on animal use in science.  

It was also a pleasure to share the Animals in Research panel with the lovely Rosa Maria Cajiga from the University of Basel’s Institute for Biomedical Ethics, whose presentation looked at the limitations of the 3Rs across Switzerland, Finland and the EU. As our talks focused on different areas of the world, it was great to be able to learn how the 3Rs, and replacement specifically, are considered in other areas. We also received some fabulous questions from the audience that we were both able to approach from different perspectives, which led to some really great discussions and exchange of ideas.  

Widening the net of inspiration

One of the best things about attending a conference that is focused on all areas of animal welfare is getting to hear about work that is going on in areas outside of our own. It’s quite easy to get tunnel vision when you’re a charity whose focus is on one specific group of animals, but in reality, there’s so much going on in the animal welfare sector that we can take inspiration from. 

I, unfortunately, missed day one of the conference, so there were many interesting talks that I missed out on, but day two was still jam-packed.  

• Ankita Shanker’s plenary address looked at protecting animal rights through theory and practice, discussing how research and training is vital in this area.  

• David Thomas’ keynote speech focused on why the law should be an essential tool for animal protection organisations, and the best way to utilise it. I personally found this one particularly interesting, as much of our work at Replacing Animal Research is around creating and securing changes to legislative frameworks, so there was lots to take away and think about! 

• I also attended a workshop ran by Philip Rule KC and Jessica Allen from No.5 Chambers, looking at promoting animal protection in public body decision making, and how judicial review can be used to push for effective animal protection and welfare.  

In memory of Paula

Finally, it would feel inappropriate to write a blog about the conference without mentioning Paula Sparks. Paula was the chairperson and co-founder of the UK Centre for Animal Law, and very sadly passed away just before this year’s event. Paula was hugely influential in the world of animal law, and a dynamic advocate for animal welfare.

Every single person at the conference, myself included, had at least one lovely story about Paula, and it was clear that her support and admiration of everybody’s work would be deeply missed.  

For me personally, if there’s one takeaway from this year’s conference, it’s this: It is so important to make sure that Paula’s legacy continues and that the world is made a better place for animals. I hope we can play even a small part in that by pushing forward to achieve our mission, and continuing to work with ALAW in the future.