Posted by Zebedee under blog's category : Communications & media

Belka and Strelka were two dogs placed into orbit by the Soviets in August 1960, returning alive 24h later. The first space satellite with a living being aboard – the dog Laika – was fired into orbit by the USSR in 1957. Unlike Belka and Strelka, but like other animals launched into space in the 1950s, Laika died.

The successful orbital flight by Belka and Strelka set the scene for the first manned space flight by Yuri Gagarin a year later.

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Posted by Sand Puppy under blog's category : Schools education

Are you a school science teacher or a GCSE science student? Don't miss out next year - invite a volunteer speaker into your school. We have keen volunteers across the UK.

Over the past school year Understanding Animal Research volunteers have given over 250 talks in schools nationwide. This has involved over 7,000 students, whom we hope can now differentiate between the myths and facts of animal research.

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Posted by Emu under blog's category : Communications & media

The National Centre for the Reduction, Refinement, and Replacement of animals in research (NC3Rs) has published a list of guidelines for scientists to follow when reporting the results of research involving animals.

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Posted by Georgina the Giraffe under blog's category : Antivivisection & extremism

Some may have seen the full page advert by the retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S), with pictures of rabbits, proclaiming its commitment not to test cosmetics or household products on animals. This appears to have been run in various national newspapers last week.

The formal policy of M&S is available on its website. The company claims to 'pass the Cruelty-Free test' and is endorsed by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), and gets a 'Bunny Logo'.

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