With its Creating a cruelty-free future report, animal protection NGO Cruelty Free International has shared its initial recommendations for government plans to phase out animal testing in the UK.
The Labour Party manifesto pledged to ‘partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing’ – and Cruelty Free International said it ‘stands ready to assist with the development of a roadmap with clear targets, milestones and actions, led by a board of experts and a new minister to co-ordinate plans across all departments.’
The report details the first concrete steps the government could take towards delivering on its commitment.
Cruelty Free International’s proposals represent priority actions that a government which is serious about the ending of animal testing must take in the early stages of its tenure.
None of the proposals require the introduction of new laws or major additional expenditure and can be started without delay.
In taking these steps, the government can set the long-term trajectory and establish clear expectations while taking advantage of early wins and laying the foundations for future success.
Cruelty Free International’s report includes the following recommendations for the new Labour government:
‘In its manifesto the Labour party made a bold commitment to reach out across society to work towards the phase out of animal testing. We stand ready with years of experience and ambitious but practical proposals to tackle this mission with them now that they are in government.
‘Animal testing is simply not good science yet inexplicably continues as the default method for testing the safety of products. Animal testing touches our lives in many ways that most of us don’t appreciate, yet non-animal testing methods have in many cases already proven themselves to be faster, cheaper and more accurate than animal testing.
‘Animal testing won’t end tomorrow, but a total phase-out is within our grasp if we are bold and seize the opportunities presented by cutting-edge, humane and human-relevant science.’
DYLAN UNDERHILL
Cruelty Free International’s UK and EU Head of Public Affairs
Home Office statistics show that there were over 2.76m uses of animals in laboratories in Great Britain in 2022.
This means that animals suffer in over 7,560 experiments conducted in laboratories in Great Britain every day – over 315 experiments on animals are conducted every hour of every day, or five every minute.
Many of the animals used will go on to die as a result of their cruel treatment. The tests include the use of dogs, cats, rabbits, horses, guinea pigs, hamsters and monkeys, as well as rats and mice.
Animal testing pervades almost every aspect of daily life in the UK – food, clothes, household cleaning products, furniture, electronic goods, paints and dyes can all be associated with animal testing on their way to our homes, through tests required by regulators to assess the safety or effectiveness of every product.
In 2021, a survey by Cruelty Free International found that 66% of people want a government-led plan to phase out animal experiments with a target date for ending tests in the UK.
Cruelty Free International ‘disappointed’ by government’s failure to prioritise phase-out of animal testing.
New study suggests culling animals who ‘don’t belong’ can be a flawed nature conservation practice.
Home Office stats show continued slow fall in number of animal tests in Britain.
Crab and lobster welfare takes a step forward with first UK supermarket benchmark.
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