International Vegan Month is organised by Animal Aid.

Animal Aid is the UK’s largest animal rights group and one of the longest established in the world, having been founded in 1977. It campaigns peacefully against all forms of animal abuse and promote a cruelty-free lifestyle.

The NPO investigates and exposes animal cruelty. Its undercover investigations and other evidence are often used by the media, to bring these issues to public attention. It has sent out thousands of veggie packs promoting a cruelty-free diet.

Objectives

Animal Aid was founded in January 1977 to work, by all peaceful means, for an end to animal cruelty. The Society is a ‘not-for-profit’ Limited Company run by a voluntary Council of Management. Although its work is completely charitable, the Society is denied charitable status because an important part of its work involves campaigning for changes in the law concerning animal protection.

Education department

Animal Aid also promotes positive change through education and has a dynamically active Education Department which produces a wide range of educational leaflets, posters, booklets and audio-visual materials. It supplies teaching resources and student information for all National Curriculum Key Stages, Sixth Form study and young people in general. Its videos for schools campaign put the moral and scientific arguments against animal experimentation.

Campaigning policy

Campaigning by Animal Aid groups at all time reflects the policy of the Society which is strictly peaceful/non-violent. The Society is adamantly opposed to intimidation, violence, the threat of violence to individuals and/or their property.

Launched in 1985, the Living Without Cruelty Campaign was an attempt to take the Animal Aid message further. Whilst continuing to educate people about the intensity and horrific scale of animal exploitation, Animal Aid feels it necessary to offer people positive alternatives to animal abuse.

The Living Without Cruelty message is simple: food, household goods, medicines and to some extent clothing and entertainment, are all dependent upon causing pain and misery to other living creatures. That pain and misery is unnecessary and Animal Aid is actively pursuing a future where animals no longer suffer.

Aims

• To increase public awareness of the abuse of animals in our society, particularly in vivisection laboratories and factory farms and to educate public opinion to demand, by all lawful means, the abolition of all experiments on animals, factory farming and all other forms of animal abuse.
• To examine existing legislation on matters associated with the above objectives or related aspects and to promote social, legal and administrative reforms in furtherance of the above objectives.
• To prevent exploitation of animals.
• To educate the public and particularly young people to a sense of moral responsibility towards animals.
• To promote, generally, a lifestyle which does not involve the abuse of animals.
• To collect, and diffuse among members and the public generally, information on all matters affecting the above objectives and with a view there to print, issue and circulate papers, periodicals, books, circulars and other literary matter and produce film and audio-visual material, and to promote, sponsor, procure or assist in any way, courses or lectures or other instructions in furtherance of such objectives.