It is with profound sorrow that Catholic Concern for Animals (CCA) has learnt of the passing of Pope Francis. As a Catholic charity, we mourn the loss of an enlightened and inspiring leader who guided the Church with love and compassion for all of God’s creatures. His ground-breaking Encyclical Laudato Si’ has been the bedrock of CCA’s work since its publication in 2015. The Encyclical’s rejection of despotic anthropocentrism, and its exhortation to hear the cries of the suffering and to cultivate an ethos of care for all creation are more relevant than ever in the turmoil of today’s world. Confident that Pope Francis is now resting in God’s arms, we are immensely grateful for his gift. He will be sorely missed but his legacy will continue to shine a light on our path as we pursue CCA’s charitable mission to advance Christian respect and responsibility for the animal creation within the Catholic tradition.
The Alliance for Cruelty Free Science and the Animal Interfaith Alliancehave worked collaboratively on a Government petition to replace animal testing with 21st century technology and to design and promote a London billboard and tube platform campaign which launches on Monday 10th March 2025.
The campaign is designed to support the Government petition “Ban animal testing for human products and medicines” which requires the Government to debate the issue of replacing animal tests with 21st century technologies which are more reliable, safer for humans and don’t require animal suffering. The petition is promoting the case that animal testing would not be used for new drugs, and other scientific methods would be used instead.
The central focus is a 48 sheet poster in Piccadilly Circus Tube station specifically aimed at capturing the attention of the public and shareholders in the pharmaceutical industry. This is closely supported by a widespread billboard campaign across London. A huge illuminated message aimed at the general public who, once made aware, are scandalised by the waste and welfare of research animals especially when using taxpayer funds in a testing methodology that fails 9 out of 10 times in human medicines and drugs.
The Alliance For Cruelty Free Science brings many animal activism groups together, to help end unnecessary animal suffering within the vivisection industry. They promote cruelty free science, easy cruelty free swaps, expose the vivisection industry, and promote a kinder way.
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Contact for Animal Interfaith Alliance – Dr Andre Menache andre.menache@gmail.com
Contact for the Alliance for Cruelty Free Science – Linda Birr-Pixton hello@allianceforcrueltyfreescience.org
The Animal Interfaith Alliance is joining with the Alliance for Cruelty Free Science (ACFS) to bring a debate in Parliament to replace outdated animal testing with 21st century technology.
We need to achieve 100,000 signatures on our Government petition in order for there to be a Government debate on the subject. We are joining the ACFS in backing a poster campaign in the London Underground to raise awareness of the petition. The QR code on the poster takes you to the Government petition.
Whilst the title of the Government petition is “Ban animal testing for human products and medicines” our message has always been to “Replace animal testing with 21st century technology” which is the title of AIA’s own Change.org petition which we hope to hand in to No. 10 Downing Street.
The title of the Government petition was altered by the Petitions Committee. It has never been AIA’s message to ban animal testing on human medicines without offering an alternative, and we believe that there are now 21st century technologies that provide better alternatives to outdated animal testing. These are detailed on our website here.
UNEP Executive Director, Inger Andersen introduces the Interfaith Women Council
UNEP’s Faith for Earth Coalition held the inaugural meeting of it’s Faith for Earth’s ‘Interfaith Women Council’ on Thursday 30th January 2025.
The Faith for Earth Interfaith Women Council is a platform composed of distinguished faith and interfaith influential women leaders advocating for environmental stewardship and sustainable development through their communities, inspired by their spiritual traditions.
The Inaugural meeting was chaired by Faith for Earth Director, Dr Iyad Abumoghli and an address was given by UNEP’s Executive Director and UN Under Secretary, Inger Andersen. Each of the new Council Members then gave a three minute presentation about projects they were working on. AIA’s Barbara Gardner MBE gave the following presentation which focused the Nexus between Animal Welfare and the Environment.
Address to UNEP’s Interfaith Women Council
Inaugural Meeting – Thursday 30 January 2025
Barbara Gardner – Founder of the Animal Interfaith Alliance – a unique alliance of the world’s most influential faith-based, animal advocacy organisations which speaks out on the moral treatment of animals by drawing on the combined wisdom of all faiths and worldviews.
A Key Projectthat we are dealing with is to ensure that the Nexus between Animal Welfare and the Environment is recognised at the United Nations. Caring for the planet and the environment starts with how we treat the other sentient beings that we share our beautiful planet with. All faiths recognise and address this, although this is often forgotten in the current practice of our faiths. It is addressed by both Pope Francis in his Encyclical on the Environment, Laudato Si’ and by its Islamic sibling, Al Mizan.
While we treat animals cruelly and inhumanely, particularly in factory farming systems, we can never protect the environment, as so much environmental damage is caused by animal agriculture, including the destruction of rainforests, oceans and other ecosystems, the pollution of seas, rivers and the atmosphere, and global warming from carbon and methane emissions. So much of our land is taken up to provide food for farmed animals which is wasteful and feeds the rich whilst the poor still remain hungry.
Also, we will never create a fair and just society where women, indigenous people and minorities are properly treated and respected whilst our hearts are hardened by the way we treat other sentient beings, which is often with extreme cruelty and brutality, as happens in the animal agriculture industry.
We are also concerned with how animals are used for testing medicines and other products. Not only does this include extreme cruelty, it is also a lazy means of product testing which fails humans, as better 21st century technology, which could be used for testing, is ignored.
So, we want to see a resolution on the Nexus between Animal Welfare and the Environment passed at the United Nations, and we want to see Animal Welfare included in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Finally, I have just been awarded an MBE in the King’s New Year Honours list for services to animal welfare, which demonstrates how interfaith work and animal welfare are now being valued by the UK Government and the King.
Cartoon by Neil Kerber, cartoonist for Private Eye
We are delighted to announce that the Animal Interfaith Alliance’s work for animal welfare was recognised by the announcement of an honour for its Founder and CE, Barbara Gardner in the King’s 2025 New Year’s Honours list.
The MBE was for “Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Animal Interfaith Alliance, and Trustee and Treasurer, RSPCA. For services to Animal Welfare”.
Barbara said: “I am delighted that ‘animal welfare’ has been rewarded in the honours system. This is a wonderful recognition of animal welfare and of all the devoted people who work tirelessly to promote it. We must build on this to work for a kinder world for animals”.
AIA is partnering with Peace Advocacy Network and the Interfaith Vegan Coalition (IVC)to explore the ethical aspects of veganism from different religious perspectives in a series of webinars.
The third webinar was held at the end of Animal Interfaith Week, on Monday 18th November and explored veganism from Sikh, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu perspectives.
The second webinar, held on 23 September 2024, explored Christian, Jain and Jewish perspectives and can be viewed here.
The first webinar, held on 19th August 2024, explored Catholic, Orthodox, Buddhist and Jewish perspectives and can be viewed here.
Founded in 2014, AIA is celebrating its 10 year anniversary by taking a look back at some of its achievements over the past 10 years. Full details are here.
The Celebration takes place during Animal Interfaith Week 2024, full details of which are here. The events included ASWA’s Animals in War Memorial Service in Park Lane, London on Sunday 10th November – Remembrance Day; the online AGM talk ‘The Parliament of the World’s Religions: Faiths Shaping Our Common Future‘ by PowR Trustee and AIA Patron, Dr Nayana Shah on Thursday 14th November; and the third Interfaith Vegan Panel webinar, jointly hosted by AIA and the Peace Advocacy Network, with the Interfaith Vegan Coalition on Monday 18th November.
AIA is partnering with Peace Advocacy Network and the Interfaith Vegan Coalition (IVC)to explore the ethical aspects of veganism from different religious perspectives in a series of webinars.
The third webinar will be held on Monday 18th November at 10.00am PT, 6.00pm GMT and will explore veganism from Sikh, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu perspectives.
Animal Interfaith Alliance 