New Report on Phasing Out Animal Testing in the EU: A Major Milestone for Animals

PETA, together with other animal protection organisations, has released a landmark flash report outlining recommendations for phasing out animal testing across the EU. This report was presented and discussed on 25 October at the second workshop on the roadmap for phasing out animal testing in chemical safety assessments and will play a crucial role in helping the European Commission develop this plan, guide stakeholder discussions, and serve as a reference for similar initiatives worldwide. This is fantastic news for millions of rabbits, mice, and other animals. Let’s dive into what this milestone means and why it’s a significant step towards a future that’s free from animal testing.

Responding to 1.2 Million Voices for Animals

Remember the “Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe Without Animal Testing” European citizens’ initiative (ECI)? Over 1.2 million European citizens supported it, and now we have exciting progress to share!

In response to this overwhelming backing, the European Commission is developing a roadmap to phase out animal testing for chemical safety assessments. This includes industrial chemicals, biocides, pesticides, and human and veterinary medicines. The newly released flash report contains key recommendations for achieving this goal.

This development follows a roundtable meeting that PETA organised in collaboration with Cruelty-Free Europe, Eurogroup for Animals, European Coalition to End Animal Experiments, and Humane Society International/Europe in Brussels in June 2024. It brought together 41 participants from commission services, EU agencies, member states, academia, industry, and non-governmental organisations.

Together, we’ve convinced the commission to take a step towards a future that’s free from tests on animals. Thank you to everyone who supported the ECI!

A Leap Towards Ending Animal Testing for Chemicals

The commitment to a roadmap that aims to create a more effective, science-driven system that better protects human health and the environment by using cutting-edge, biologically relevant methods is a game-changer. It offers a critical opportunity for phasing out tests on animals across the EU and transitioning to a humane animal-free regulatory system.

What Does It Mean for Millions of Animals?

In 2022, experimenters in the EU used mice, rats, rabbits, dogs, monkeys, fish, birds, ferrets, guinea pigs, and other animals in nearly 1.6 million procedures for product safety assessment, quality control, or production.

This included some truly horrific tests. Experimenters force-fed pregnant rabbits toxic chemicals before killing and dissecting their unborn babies and inserted a tube down dogs’ throats to pump pesticides directly into their stomachs every day for 90 days, after which they killed the animals and dissected their organs.

The roadmap brings us closer to a future where animals are no longer tormented and humane innovative testing methods are used to reliably predict outcomes on human health and the environment.

What Are the Recommendations?

The flash report outlines the following recommendations, which are essential to making the EU’s roadmap successful and adaptable as science evolves:

• The roadmap should be flexible, adapting to evolving needs and scientific advances.
• EU legislation on chemicals safety must be revised, simplified, and harmonised to promote non-animal methods, identify where they can be applied, and address gaps.
• Immediate steps should be taken to maximise the use of all available non-animal methods within the current regulatory framework.
• Alternative approval pathways are needed to expedite regulatory acceptance of non-animal methods.
• The roadmap should align with global initiatives to enhance acceptance of non-animal methods worldwide.
• Collaboration across stakeholders and sectors should be strengthened to promote knowledge sharing and streamline efforts.
• Transparency and accessibility should be increased by creating EU databases and spaces for open exchange of data and ideas.
• Training programmes should be developed to equip stakeholders with expertise in non-animal methods and build confidence in them.
• An independent supervisory committee should oversee the transition to an animal-free regulatory system.
• A robust monitoring and evaluation framework with set targets and deliverables should be used to track progress.
• Sustained, sufficient funding must be secured to support the transition to an animal-free regulatory system.

You can read more here.

What’s Next?

Think of the flash report as a sneak peek. The comprehensive report, including detailed recommendations and outcomes, is coming soon. Stay tuned for more updates – we’ll keep you posted!

Take Action for Animals in Laboratories

As the EU progresses, don’t let the UK fall behind – urge the government to use PETA’s Research Modernisation Deal to create a roadmap for phasing out experiments on animals in the UK: