The BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection) recently launched a light-hearted viral email designed to poke fun at pro-vivisectionists within the scientific community, in an awareness raising stunt not normally associated with animal rights organisations...

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The email was launched a week before MEPs from all EU countries vote in Strasbourg on plans to poison millions of animals (dogs and rabbits as well as rodents and fish) in Europe’s largest ever mass animal testing programme1. Designed by McKeown Devita Productions. It marks a departure from their usual pop promos and manga style productions.

Spoof approach to undermining the pro-testing case

Testing Today, commissioned by the BUAV, features fictional cartoon character, Professor Vitzerdooble, an old fashioned and eccentric pro-vivisectionist. He talks about and demonstrates the animal methods still in use to test the safety of ingredients in most everyday products – everything from pencil sharpeners, and floor cleaners, to dental floss and chairs. At the end of the email is a link to filmed footage of real-life poisoning tests on mice, dogs, rabbits and guinea pigs, a petition for people to sign calling on the Government to support non-animal methods, and information on how to write to MEPs, asking them to vote in favour of non-animal tests in the key vote coming up on November 17th.

Adolfo Sansolini, the CEO of BUAV says, “We were keen to create something that reveals we are creative and forward thinking. We hope that Professor Vitzerdooble will help us spread the message that to continue using costly, time consuming and unreliable animal tests when alternatives are more reliable, biologically relevant, repeatable and humane, is simply madness!”

Animation to enliven adult perspectives

Christian De Vita from McKeown Devita Productions says: “Most people associate animation with cute children's programs or advertising and forget that it can be a useful tool, striking a chord with wide audiences on very important subjects. The juxtaposition of such a powerful topic and the cute cartoon makes the short film and its message a powerful combination.”

Paul McKeown from the same company adds "We started our company to move away from banal and mundane subjects, aiming to produce worthwhile projects and Testing Today gave us the creative chance to do so. Approaching this difficult topic from a different angle and presenting antiquated animal testing from the point of view of a old fashioned and comical scientist is a novel approach to the difficult subject of animal testing in an age when most people are jaded with a tendency to switch off from important issues."

Professor Vitzerdooble, star of the short film, says “Testing on animals is what we have always done, and I see no reason to change.”

To see the viral email, go to www.testingtoday.info

For more information on the BUAV’s campaign against animal use for chemicals testing, go to www.buav.org/campaigns/chemicals and for more information on alternatives to animal testing go to http://www.eceae.org/pdf/ECEAE_Replacing_Animal_Based_Toxicity_Tests.pdf

1. The Plenary Vote on REACH is set for 14th – 17th November in Strasbourg. The European Commission has proposed the Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) to test the approximately 30,000 chemicals that were released onto the market prior to 1981 when manufacturers had no obligation to test them. Many of the chemicals are present in everyday substances.

2. The European Commission has estimated 1.7 to 4.6 million animals may be used. Many experts believe it may be even more.

About Mckeown/DeVita:
Mckeown/DeVita productions was created in 2004 to combine the talents and creative visions of Paul McKeown and Christian DeVita, who together have over 25 combined years experience within the animation industry, and have numerous television series, feature films and commercials under their belt. Based in Shoreditch London, and always open to experiment with new techniques and technology, with an eye for slick aesthetics and a good ear for happening music and trends, their remit is to create honest and original work with an onus on content as well as cool and original style, with the aim to produce video art with meaning, which is intelligent and well as thought provoking.

About the BUAV:
The BUAV is the world’s leading organisation campaigning against animal experimentation. We oppose all violence to animals as well as humans, and believe that animals are entitled to respect and compassion, which animal experiments deny them. Our aim is to achieve lasting change by challenging attitudes and behaviour towards animals. We do this in the following ways: Peacefully campaigning and lobbying to change laws and government policies; Challenging negative perceptions around animal rights; Providing information on and raising awareness of animal experimentation. www.buav.org