John McDonnell MP Calls On Government to End Animal Testing
6 November 2024
John McDonnell MP Calls On Government to End Animal Testing
Hayes and Harlington – Yesterday, John McDonnell, Independent MP for Hayes and Harlington and former shadow chancellor of the exchequer, joined more than 30 other MPs at a special reception hosted by PETA at the Palace of Westminster to show support for – and pressure the government to develop – a plan to phase out animal experimentation. Titled “A Roadmap for Non-Animal Science in the UK”, the reception showcased PETA’s Research Modernisation Deal, a report created by PETA scientists that provides policymakers with a detailed strategy for ending experiments on animals and accelerating the uptake and further development of non-animal methods.
The event was sponsored by Bob Blackman CBE MP and attended by other MPs, including Adrian Ramsay MP and Ruth Jones MP, as well as Battlestar Galactica and Law & Order: UK star and long-time PETA friend Jamie Bamber.
Images from the event are available here.
“Animal experiments are both outdated and incompatible with a society that values compassion and progress. It’s distressing to know that animals, such dogs with whom we share our homes, are still subjected to unthinkable experiments. We urgently need a clear roadmap to phase out experiments on animals in all forms and focus on humane, human-relevant methods. By doing this, we protect animals and ensure that science advances for the benefit of all,” says McDonnell.
“Every year, millions of mice, rats, fish, dogs, monkeys, rabbits, and other animals are caged, subjected to physical and psychological torment, and killed in unreliable experiments that do little to advance human health,” says PETA Science Policy Advisor Dr Kimberley Jayne. “PETA is calling on the government to commit to ending all experiments on animals. It must stop wasting money and lives on archaic animal experimentation and switch to modern research methods that actually help people.”
In 2023, more than 2.68 million animals were bled, poisoned, deprived of food, isolated, mutilated, or otherwise subjected to psychological suffering and physical pain in British laboratories. Millions more were bred and discarded as “surplus” because, for example, they were not of the desired sex or lacked certain disease characteristics. The government has committed to working towards phasing out animal testing, and PETA urges everyone to hold it to this promise by demanding a government-led roadmap for ending all experiments on animals.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information about PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.
Contact:
Lucy Watson +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]
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