The 2018 Lush Prize – Rewarding Those Working Towards Ending Experiments on Animals
Today, a conference is being held in Berlin to announce the 2018 Lush Prize winners. Scientists and interested organisations are coming together to discuss strategies to end experiments on animals and explore technology to replace animal tests with human-relevant approaches.
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One of the ways that personal-care brand Lush works towards ending experiments on animals is by accelerating the work of those seeking replacement methods. This is partly achieved through the prestigious annual Lush Prize, a major funding initiative that has been running since 2012 that rewards individuals and organisations striving for change.
In 2015, the PETA International Science Consortium Ltd. won the Lush Prize for Training for its broad approach to education and training. PETA India and the PETA US Laboratory Investigations Department have also been winners in previous years.
This time, winners will receive a grand total of £350,000 to advance their efforts to end experimentation on animals. The submissions have been reviewed by several judges, including PETA’s head of science, Dr Gilly Stoddart, who is thrilled to be a part of the panel for the fourth time.
The conference will discuss whether an end is in sight and how the implementation of exciting new non-animal methods such as organs-on-chips can be used to replace animals in safety testing. Presentations will be given on new and upcoming technology and will explore tricky subjects such as getting rapid regulatory approval for new research tools so that they can be used to replace animals as effectively and efficiently as possible.
A focal session is also being held to discuss human-relevant methods that can be employed to end the use of foetal bovine serum (FBS), which, astonishingly, is still commonly used in laboratories today. This cruelly obtained serum is derived from blood extracted from the foetuses of pregnant cows in abattoirs. The Consortium is working to replace FBS and raise awareness of the superior, alternative products already available.
PETA is honoured to be a part of such a forward-thinking event, and the Lush Prize continues to inspire us. We look forward to the next Lush Prize conference!
What You Can Do
Together, we can help end the suffering of animals in laboratories. Please urge the government to commit to ending all experiments on animals:
