[3][4] It was formed by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) in honour of its former president, Walter Hadwen.

In April 2017, the charity changed its working name from Dr Hadwen Trust to become Animal Free Research UK.

Its purpose is to "support scientists to transition from using animals to using new approach methodologies in medical research".

[5] Projects receiving funding from the Dr. Hadwen Trust range from epilepsy, multiple sclerosis,[6] breast[7] and skin cancer, meningitis, asthma, diabetes and drug testing, to arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, lung injury, whooping cough, vaccine testing, dentistry, heart disease, tropical illness, fetal development, brain tumours, and AIDS.

Funding is received in the form of summer studentships, PhD students, post-docs, and strategic grants.