The first deposit of the records of BUAV predominantly contains material produced since the 1960s. However, there are a variety of minutes from assorted committees stretching from BUAV's formation in 1898 through to 1990 [U DBV/2]. This includes a series of Executive Committee minutes, 1899-1904 and 1916-1929*. Annual General Meeting minutes cover the period 1966-1978*. There is a series of annual reports from 1898 to 1992 at U DBV/3. Apart from these classes of records the administrative history of BUAV is not well documented. There are five files containing correspondence relating to a variety of matters, including with Mrs Dorothy Hegarty, founder of the Promoters of Animal Welfare, and concerning the Democracy Working Group, 1985-1986 [U DBV/4]. Membership records for BUAV are also sparse, predominantly covering the period 1929 to 1966. These comprise both headquarters registers and those of the branches [U DBV/5].
* Executive Committee minutes 1904-1916 and 1943-1986, and AMG minutes 1950-1958 were received in 2012 and are in the process of being catalogued [as additions to U DBV2/2]
There is an assortment of financial material relating to BUAV from 1971 onwards. This material includes details of legacies left to BUAV, the formation of companies and the use of advertisements [U DBV/6]. The legal records in this deposit predominantly cover the aftermath of the campaign against Wickham Research Laboratories which resulted in a court case against BUAV [U DBV/7]. There are four files relating to property owned by BUAV in London, Leicester and Harrogate [U DBV/31].
Branch records are assorted covering the period 1933-1982 [U DBV/32]. This includes a series of annual reports from the South Eastern Area, 1946-1962, and a series of files relating to each branch, arranged in alphabetical order. BUAV involvement with other animal welfare groups participating in joint organisations is documented by a series of files and volumes [U DBV/33]. This includes details of the campaigns to gain parliamentary support during the 1960s, minutes from the Conference of Anti Vivisection Societies and the British Council of Anti Vivisection Societies during the 1960s and 1970s [U DBV/33/6-8, 20-24].
Records relating to the Croydon and Dulwich & Peckham branch(es) 1930-1956 were received in 2012 and are in the process of being catalogued [as additions to U DBV2/27]
A considerable part of the BUAV archive includes some 118 files of press cuttings covering the period 1932 to 1993 [U DBV/30]. These files are all original, some assembled by topic while others appear in chronological order. There is a series of periodicals from 1901 to 1994 [U DBV/23]. This includes The Abolitionist, 1901-1949; The Antivivisectionist, 1949-1969; AV Times, 1969-1975 [U DBV/24]; Animal Welfare, 1972-1980; Liberator, 1983-1991; Campaign Report, 1991-1994; Junior Section News Sheet, 1945-1949; and Youth Section News Sheet, 1950-1953. Internal bulletins covering 1982-1994 comprise a significant section of the archive, including BUAV News, 1990-1993; Contacts Mailout, 1982-1990; and Information Update, 1988-1994 [U DBV/27]. There is also a series of pamphlets published by BUAV from 1873 to 1994 [U DBV/25]. A number of the early publications have been bound into volumes covering 1874 to circa 1960. In addition there are eighteen files of archive pamphlets arranged in alphabetical order, by title, covering the whole period. Leaflets produced since the 1960s can also be found. These have generally been arranged in alphabetical files. Propaganda leaflets reproducing Home Office statistics detailing the number of experiments carried out upon living animals are accompanied by five bound volumes of Home Office Annual Returns [U DBV/25/46-52]. Other propaganda material includes two files of posters, 1980-1994, and three poster tubes covering the Barbados campaign [U DBV/28]. There are six video tapes and one audio tape produced by BUAV during the 1950s and 1960s to highlight the suffering of animals and their own efforts to relieve this suffering [U DBV/29/1-7].
The archive contains a number of original files. These include 48 subject files relating to specific areas and are arranged in alphabetical order [U DBV/21]. This includes correspondence with, for example, cosmetic companies and the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association [U DBV/21/20]. There are also files relating to institutions carrying out animal experiments, such as Huntingdon Research Centre and General Motors/Vauxhall [U DBV/21/26, 27,29]. There are 33 files relating to other animal rights groups [U DBV/22]. These are arranged in alphabetical order and include specific files bearing the title of the organisation as well as some more general files containing lists of contact names and an 'International animal rights directory' [U DBV/22/5]. Files relating to individual organisations contain a variety of information including literature, minutes and photographs.
The first deposit covers a variety of campaigns undertaken by BUAV since 1968. There is one file relating to initial discussions surrounding the establishment of the campaign in support of the Rafton Pounder Bill of 1968, which advocated a ban on the export of animals for vivisection [U DBV/16/1]. The main political campaigns have been undertaken with the support of other animal rights groups in the form of the General Election Coordinating Committees of the 1979 and 1983 elections. There is a small amount of information relating to these campaigns in the archives, mainly comprising correspondence, minutes, press coverage and propaganda materials [U DBV/11,12]. The joint Mobilisation for Laboratory Animals campaign is documented. There are 24 files covering the initial correspondence and minutes of the campaign, administrative details regarding the demonstrations undertaken in London as part of the Week of Action, 5-12 May 1984, and the Inspection Day held on 19 November 1985, along with press cuttings and campaign literature [U DBV/14]. A small amount of information exists detailing BUAV's campaign against the Royal College of Surgeons. Evidence was obtained illustrating the poor conditions in which the college was keeping their animals for research purposes, in particular the monkey, Mone [U DBV/10]. The material includes correspondence, press cuttings and photographs of a 'Free Mone' demonstration (circa 1985) [U DBV/10/5]. Documentation regarding the Choose Cruelty Free campaign includes eight correspondence files as BUAV sought to obtain information on cosmetic companies' use of animals in experiments [U DBV/8/1-8]. This campaign produced an 'Approved cosmetic and household product guide' available to the consumer. There are six files directly relating to the 1988 and 1989 publications including draft copies and details of the financial expenditure involved in production [U DBV/8/12-17]. A 'Not tested on animals' logo was launched as part of the campaign against such experiments. Correspondence with cosmetic companies regarding their registration for this logo can be found at U DBV/8/5-7. There are also a number of files containing press cuttings and campaign literature, including three editions of the Choose Cruelty Free magazine, 1987-1989 [U DBV/8/18-29]. Papers relating to the Health with Humanity campaign in the archive include a campaign leaflet, setting out the campaign objectives, an information sheet and a Health with Humanity magazine, complete with draft copy. There is also a Charities Report for the campaign which discusses changes in lifestyle which would reduce the incidence of diseases such as heart disease and cancer, and the experiments undertaken to produce existing treatments for these illnesses [U DBV/13]. There are four files relating to the Paradise Lost - End the International Trade in Primates for Research campaign in the collection [U DBV/15]. This includes details of the campaign launch on 23 June 1993 at press conferences in Brighton and Leeds. Subsequent press releases, information and photographs gathered for the campaign can be found at DBV/15/3 and 4. The European Cosmetics campaign was launched in 1991 as a direct response to the European Cosmetics Directive 76/768, regarding the use of animals in cosmetic experiments. The archive contains a report produced by BUAV outlining the implications of the directive, 'Brussels march and rally. The directive explained' [U DBV/9/2]. There are a number of files relating to campaign press conferences held in 1991 and containing information in a number of European languages [U DBV/9/5-10]. Two files contain material regarding a petition organised against the directive [U DBV/9,13]. Material regarding the use of Vanity, a six foot white rabbit, in the campaign against cosmetic testing comprises a file of press cuttings dated 1991-1993 [U DBV/17/1]. There are two items in the archive relating to the campaign against the patenting of the Harvard Oncomouse. There is a copy of the report produced by BUAV and Compassion in World Farming opposing the patent and a press release outlining the campaign [U DBV/18]. The use of demonstrations as a campaign tactic is documented within the archive. There are four files relating to campaigns between 1983 and 1985 specifically against research organisations, in this case Biorex, based in London, and Oxford University [U DBV/19]. Administrative details regarding the London demonstration of the Mobilisation for Laboratory Animals campaign of May 1984 can be found at U DBV/14/9-13. There are also two files of press cuttings regarding demonstrations between 1981 and 1984 [U DBV/30/31,36].
There are a number of files concerning BUAV's activities in training members and attempting to educate the wider public. This covers the educational bus tour of 1990, including administrative details of three stops made at schools in Kent, London and Surrey [U DBV/20/3-6]. BUAV contacts training weekends of 1989 and 1990 are documented within the archive. The material includes application forms, timetables of the weekends, registration details and workshop coordinators papers [U DBV/20/12-37]. Papers relating to training days for BUAV staff held between 1988 and 1990 cover the administration involved in the events, including correspondence and lists of delegates [U DBV/20/39-50].
There is a small amount of material relating to the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research. This includes a report and accounts for the period January 1967-March 1972, a promotional pamphlet and leaflets [U DBV/34/2-4]. Through his work as a Medical Doctor, Hadwen was charged with manslaughter after the death of a patient suffering from pneumonia in Gloucester. A report of his trial and acquittal can be found at U DBV/34/5.
The second deposit contains a variety of material created during the 1950s and 1960s. There is relatively little new material regarding the campaigning work of the 1980s and 1990s, but there are a number of administrative and correspondence files which help to provide a greater idea of the internal structure of the organisation. A number of other items help to fill gaps in the first deposit.
There is a small collection of minutes from Executive Committee meetings of November 1981 and January 1982, an Extraordinary General Meeting of October 1977 and a Finance Committee meeting of August 1981 [U DBV2/2/1, 2, 12, 13]. Minutes of the 1967, 1973-1975 and 1977-1978 Annual General Meetings help to fill gaps in the sequence in the first deposit, as do annual reports and accounts 1993-1995 [U DBV2/2/3-10; U DBV2/3].
A series of 39 administrative files contains material relating to the Executive Committee, including internal disagreements during the 1980s and nomination papers received in 1980. Internal policy papers and reports of Working Groups cover the period 1983 to 1986. There are a number of files relating to advertising, printing and promotion, and transport, from 1974 to 1981 [U DBV2/4]. Some 35 correspondence files contain general letters and those from individual members of BUAV covering the 1950s to the 1970s. This material includes letters regarding subscriptions, donations and merchandise [U DBV2/5].
The personnel files contain material of a more sensitive nature and include individual case files and details of the dispute between the Assocation of Clerical, Technical and Supervisory Staffs and BUAV management in 1989. Four files contain completed application forms for ordinary membership received in 1980 and 1981 [U DBV2/7].
The financial records contained within the second deposit include balance sheets for the years ending 1969 and 1971, monthly statistics and reports for February 1986, January 1987 and July 1988 to November 1988 [U DBV2/8/1- 2, 4-6]. A volume entitled 'Legacies' contains an index to those legacies received prior to September 1981 [U DBV2/8/7]. There is a series of correspondence files relating to BUAV's accountants, bankers and their share holdings [U DBV2/8/8, 9, 13-15, 17].
There are 14 files of legal documents relating to a number of cases, including those of Horace Edwin Hobbs v. Blanche A Watson (BUAV member) in 1929 and BUAV v. MacGregor, which involved an attempt to change the articles of association to allow MacGregor to be removed from the register of members in the 1930s [U DBV2/9/1-2]. Alleged defamation of Animed Ltd. and Bantin and Kingman Ltd. is documented; both cases related to the living conditions of animals kept for experimentation during the 1980s [U DBV2/9/3-4]. Other files relate to unauthorised advertising, internal administrative problems, dealings with the BUAV's solicitors and insurance [U DBV2/9/6-13].
Six BUAV campaigns are documented in the second deposit. Material relating to the Choose cruelty free campaign dates from 1986 to 1996 and includes six copies of the Approved cosmetic and household product guide form 1987 to 1996 [U DBV2/10/3-8]. There is one file containing artwork for the design of Vanity the rabbit and three files containing campaign leaflets and a rosette [U DBV2/10/2, 11, 13-14]. The Christmas behind bars campaign of 1986 called for the release of BUAV activists imprisoned for involvement in raiding animal laboratories. The documentation includes press cuttings and leaflets [U DBV2/11]. There is one file concerning the campaign to close Club Row animal market in the East End of London between 1981 and 1983 at U DBV2/12/1. Three files regarding the European cosmetics campaign of the 1990s contain a blank petition form, a pamphlet and a file of promotional literature [U DBV2/13]. A file of campaign literature for the Paradise lost - end the international trade in primates for research campaign covers 1992 to 1993 [U DBV2/14/1]. BUAV's campaign against Benetton's use of animals in cosmetic experiments is documented by six files, mainly of press cuttings, from 1988 [U DBV2/15].
Material relating to BUAV demonstrations includes a file of correspondence with four black and white photographs from an animal welfare week demonstration in Hampstead in May 1928. More recent files containing administrative details of the World Day for Laboratory Animals demonstrations of 1985 and 1986 can be found at U DBV2/16/3-15. There is a series of administrative files documenting the demonstration of 2 August 1986 calling for the release of activists imprisoned following a raid against a Unilever establishment [U DBV2/16/16-23].
The administrative details of BUAV's schools bus tour of 1990 can be found at U DBV2/17. This took place in London and the South East of England and includes correspondence, maps and itineraries.
A series of subject files dates from 1900 to 1987 and covers a variety of topics including animal welfare, politics, animal experiments and alternative research, rabies, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food [U DBV2/18]. There are 24 files regarding other animal rights groups. Three of these contain general material on overseas anti-vivisection groups, the remainder are arranged in alphabetical order by name, dating from 1950 to 1988 [U DBV2/19]. BUAV's involvement with other animal welfare organisations is documented by a number of files dating from 1936 to 1987 [U DBV2/28]. These include seven files on Animal Welfare Year in 1977.
There is a complete set of the first volume of 'The Abolitionist' dating from May 1899 to March 1901 and contains an index to the second part, April 1901 to March 1901. There is also another copy of vol. XVIII no.1 of 'The Abolitionist' with a colour version of the cover. Six editions of 'Campaign Report' date from summer 1994 to winter 1995-96. [U DBV2/20] Seven artificial files contain a pamphlets published by BUAV between 1875 and 1994. These have been arranged in alphabetical order by title. There are also a number of original bundles of pamphlets on topics such as dogs, inoculation and religion. [U DBV2/21/1-14] 11 editions of BUAV catalogues of merchandise date from 1986 to 1996. A series of 59 BUAV factsheets produced between October 1986 and January 1996 cover topics from how to start a local animal rights group to warfare experiments, thalidomide, organ transplants and animal patenting. [U DBV2/21/15-87] 18 books have been retained in the archive, dating from 1875 to 1990. A number of these are by Frances Power Cobbe. [U DBV2/22] There are assorted copies of BUAV internal bulletins, including 'Action Mailout', 1988-1989, and 'Contact Mailout', January to May 1985 [U DBV2/23].
More recent editions of 'The Liberator', 'Campaigner' and 'Campaign reports' and some other publications were received in 2012 and are in the process of being catalogued [as additions to U DBV2/20-23]
Audio visual material includes a number of recordings of committee meetings in 1981 [U DBV2/24]. 12 files and volumes of press cuttings date from 1896 to 1986 and cover topics such as vivisection, vaccination, animal welfare and Dr Walter Hadwen's world cruise, circa 1930 [U DBV2/25].
There are a number of files regarding BUAV's property, both rented and owned. This includes files and plans on BUAV's current office at 16a Crane Grove, London, detailing alterations made to the property and agreements with tenants. [U DBV2/26]
23 files contain BUAV branch records from 1963 to 1983. This includes a membership list dated 1979 and a file of circular letters concerning meetings of branch secretaries, 1963 to 1979. The remaining files have been arranged alphabetically by branch name. [U DBV2/27]
Records relating to the Croydon and Dulwich & Peckham branch(es) 1930-1956 were received in 2012 and are in the process of being catalogued [as additions to U DBV2/27]
One file and pamphlet commemorate the centenary of Walter Hadwen's birth in 1954 [U DBV2/29]. A miscellaneous section contains six plays concerning animals, 19 photographs, including of BUAV premises in Charing Cross, and a BUAV Animal Rescue collection box [U DBV2/30].