Plan to phase out animal experiments

The Government must recognise the urgent need to use animal-free science and publish a clear and ambitious action plan with timetables and milestones to drive the phase-out of animal experiments. As well as preventing animal suffering, this will benefit public health and business.

Every year, around 3 million animals are used in experiments in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As well as causing large-scale animal suffering, this outdated practice fails to deliver medical progress. 90 per cent of drugs that pass animal tests go on to fail in human clinical trials. There are many modern alternatives that deliver results that are directly applicable to people, such as the use of artificial intelligence and organ-on-a-chip technology.

Government believes scientific research using animals plays a vital part in understanding how biological systems work in health and disease. The use of animals in science supports the development of new medicines and cutting-edge medical technologies, for humans and animals, and the safety and sustainability of our environment. However, animals must only be used where there is no alternative. This is achieved through robust regulation and support/ funding for non-animal alternatives.

In the UK no animal testing may be conducted except for a permissible purpose enshrined in law. These purposes include to: assess the safety of medicines or chemicals; protect the environment; allow the development of medicines; and conduct basic scientific research to understand how biological systems and processes work. Under UK law no animal testing may be conducted if there is a non- animal alternative available and such testing is strictly limited to that necessary to achieve the scientific benefits.

Animal testing is required by global medicines regulators including the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to protect human health and safety. Without the testing of potential medicines on animals the development, registration and marketing of new, safe, and effective medicines would not be possible. The animal species for animal testing of potential medicines are specifically chosen to give as much human relevant information as possible and to avoid species specific reactions which would not predict human effects. Many products which would be unsafe or ineffective in humans are detected through animal testing thus avoiding harm to humans. Potential medicines fail in development for many reasons. The fact that medicines are stopped in development for reasons other than unfavourable outcomes from animal testing does not mean that testing is not essential.