Beyond Animal Research

09/05/2026

Just when we thought we couldn’t love the BAR logo any more, it got turned into a delicious vegan cookie! 😍🍪

Lorraine's Cookies created these beautiful, handcrafted cookies for our recent LUSH x BAR event. They looked incredible, tasted amazing, and were such a special part of the evening ✨

Almost too pretty to eat… almost 👀

07/05/2026

07/05/2026

What an incredible evening for animals!💕

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our special after-hours fundraising event with LUSH Cosmetics in Ōtautahi, Christchurch.

It was a beautiful night filled with inspiring conversations, vegan treats, mocktails, cruelty-free bath bomb making, and so much support for a future where science can thrive without harming animals.

We’re so grateful to LUSH for partnering with Beyond Animal Research (BAR) and for their long-standing commitment to ending animal testing and supporting ethical innovation.

A massive thank you as well to the amazing local businesses who helped make the evening so special. Your manaakitanga was felt by all:

🌱 Green Dinner Table
🍹 The Good Cocktail Co
☕ Otautahi Oats - Fresh, Local, The Best Oat Milk
🍪 Lorraine's Cookies

And finally, thank you to every single person who bought a ticket, donated, entered the raffle, shared the event and showed up to support this crucial mahi for animals.

Here are some photos from the evening ✨

📸Photo credit: Dolly from the Hattering

29/04/2026

🐭💕 Meet Xena, Skitter, Splinter and Manis!

We recently worked with the University of Auckland to help rehome these beautiful rats and just look at them now 🥹

Xena, Skitter, Splinter and Manis (pronounced Ma-niece, meaning “sweet” in Indonesian) are now living their best lives with Sylvia and Lukas, who are completely smitten with their new family members.

Moments like this don’t just happen, it takes care, time, and commitment behind the scenes to make rehoming possible, even for a small group of animals.

We want to say a heartfelt thank you to the university staff who helped make this happen! 💕

28/04/2026

Some amazing businesses supporting our mahi for animals! 💕🐇

We’ve put together a beautiful raffle filled with ethical prizes, generously donated by businesses who share our values.✨

From LUSH goodies to vegan chocolate, a Moana Road wallet, and a Christchurch Hot Pools double pass… there’s plenty up for grabs 👀

🎟 Raffle tickets will be available on the night at our LUSH Christchurch fundraiser this Saturday (2 May), with 100% of proceeds supporting Beyond Animal Research.

A huge thank you to LUSH, Wonderland Chocolate, Moana Road and He Puna Taimoana for helping make this possible.

And yes - the event is now sold out! We can’t wait to see everyone there 🥰

23/04/2026

🌍 Today is World Day for Animals in Labs!🐁💕

Every year on 24 April, we recognise the animals still harmed in science around the world and the growing movement to change this.

When this day was first established in 1979, it was called World Day for Lab Animals.

But over time, as understanding has grown around the power of language, that name has evolved to World Day for Animals in Labs.

💭 Why does this matter?
The words we use shape how we think.
Terms like “lab animals,” “farm animals,” or “pound dogs” can unintentionally define animals by their use to humans.

Shifting our language helps shift perspective - towards recognising animals for who they are, not what they’re used for.

And that shift is important, because animals are sentient. Recognising this is essential if we want to move towards a world where animals are not harmed, exploited, or made to suffer for human purposes.

22/04/2026

🚨WONDERFUL news for animals and science in Aotearoa! 🎉

Victoria University of Wellington has ruled out the Forced Swim Test, confirming on its website that it is no longer considered valid and will not be approved for use.

This follows the University of Waikato, which shared the same stance in September last year! 👏

That’s now TWO NZ universities publicly taking a stand against this outdated animal test.

Why this matters: The Forced Swim Test has long been challenged on scientific and ethical grounds. Seeing universities choose transparency and evidence-based policy is a powerful step forward, for both animals and science.

At BAR, we’ve been engaging constructively with Victoria University and other universities across NZ to support this shift, and it’s working.

✨ Another NZ university is set to make a similar statement, and we can’t wait to share that with you soon 👀

We’ll keep working collaboratively to accelerate the shift away from the harmful use of animals in science in NZ and beyond.

Because working together for animals is working!❤️

Learn more via our latest blog:
www.beyondanimalresearch.org.nz/post/another-nz-university-takes-a-stand-against-the-forced-swim-test

20/04/2026

🎨 We are in awe…

This stunning art piece was created for BAR by the incredibly talented Amanda Toner Art. and we couldn’t love it more!

Soon, you’ll be able to purchase this artwork as a print to hang in your home, with all proceeds helping support our work to .

✨ Want to be the first to know when it launches?

Sign up to the BAR mailing list - our new webshop is coming soon 👀
🔗 beyondanimalresearch.org.nz/join/sign-up

A huge thank you to Amanda for creating something so beautiful and meaningful for animals.

Amanda is an Auckland-based tattoo artist and illustrator known for her illustrative, neo-traditional, and whimsical style. She specialises in animal and nature-inspired art and has a special gift for creating pieces that spark thought and connection with animals. 💭✨❤ 🐇

18/04/2026

✨ Excitement is building for the LUSH x BAR event!

One of our amazing supporters was delighted to spot BAR up in lights at the LUSH store in Ōtautahi. 😍

We can’t wait for this special night bringing people together for animals, it’s going to be something really special.

🎟️ Only a few tickets left!
Grab yours here: https://events.humanitix.com/lush-x-b-a-r

17/04/2026

This is a race everyone should want to win!⚡

This powerful piece from CBC media in Canada highlights something we’re seeing globally: the shift away from animal testing isn’t a distant idea, it’s already happening.

Scientists are increasingly developing human-relevant, animal-free methods that are not only more ethical, but often more effective. But there’s a challenge:

👉 the science is advancing faster than funding and regulation can keep up.

These barriers matter. Because without the right support, promising innovations risk being slowed, even when they have the potential to transform research for both people and animals.

At BAR, this is exactly what we’re working to change here in NZ - supporting the transition toward better science that works for humans, without harming animals.

🙏 A huge thank you to Charu Chandrasekera, Founder & President of the Canadian Institute for Animal-Free Science, for her incredible leadership in driving this global shift.

👉 Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/animal-testing-canada-9.7147504