PETA Brings the Fight to End Animal Experiments to Parliament
One year ago, the UK Government published its Replacing Animals in Science Strategy. Now comes the crucial part: turning its commitments into meaningful change for animals in laboratories.
To mark the anniversary, PETA brought together parliamentarians and representatives from government, academia, industry, and civil society at a special Parliamentary Reception at the Palace of Westminster to examine the progress made so far and, importantly, what needs to happen next.
The reception comes one year to the day after the publication of the UK Strategy and will focus attention on translating its ambitions into action.
From Ambition to Action
PETA welcomed the publication of the UK Replacing Animals in Science Strategy as an important step towards ending experiments on animals.
There have been positive developments during its first year, including recognition that experts in animal protection should have a seat on the Alternative Methods Expert Committee. The Home Office also acted on PETA’s recommendations to improve reporting of animal use, while the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency published its approach for assessing medicines using non-animal methods.
However, several key commitments remain incomplete or difficult to assess. In particular, there are no explicit targets to replace animals in basic research. The next phase must therefore be about making delivery of the Strategy effective and transparent, and ensuring that activities lead to measurable progress towards ending animal use.
Ultimately, progress will be judged by what actually changes for animals in laboratories.
That’s why PETA is calling on MPs to encourage every UK university, company, and laboratory licensed to breed, house, or use animals in experiments to publish a clear, measurable plan for phasing them out within their facility. This practical step would complement the Government’s strategy and help bring its ambitions directly to the institutions where animals are still being used.
This call was also at the centre of PETA’s Parliamentary Reception where MPs and members of the House of Lords signed the pledge to support institution-led roadmaps.
Some Experiments Can End Now
Millions of animals continue to be subjected to painful and invasive procedures.
As PETA Head of Science Policy Dr Julia Baines explained, “PETA is calling for decisive steps to end all experiments on animals and accelerate the shift to state-of-the-art, species-relevant science.”
One priority is greater ambition when it comes to replacing animals in disease and discovery research.
Take sepsis research. The induction of infection and systemic inflammation in mice often involves surgery or injections of bacteria, which can cause extreme pain, nausea, and organ failure. Despite decades of research using animals and billions in funding, effective treatments remain elusive – costing the UK up to £15.6 billion a year in healthcare and economic losses related to sepsis.
PETA’s Research Modernisation Deal sets out a broader framework for ending experiments on animals. It identifies more than 40 areas of animal use that could be ended, dramatically reduced, or prioritised for replacement right now, and can complement policymakers’ implementation of the UK strategy.
Bringing the Conversation to Parliament
MPs from across the political spectrum alongside representatives and experts from government, science, academia, and animal protection spoke at the PETA event, including Ruth Jones MP, Irene Campbell MP, Bob Blackman CBE MP, Adrian Ramsay MP, and Iqbal Mohamed MP.
They were joined by toxicologist Dr Carl Westmoreland, Professor Andrew Knight of the University of Winchester, a senior official from the Office for Life Sciences, and PETA’s Dr Julia Baines.
PETA and our supporters spent years calling for a national plan to end experiments on animals. The UK now has a government strategy focused on phasing out animal use in experiments. The task now is to turn that commitment into change wherever animals are being used.
That means maintaining political momentum, scrutinising progress, identifying areas of animal experimentation that can be ended immediately, driving the development of innovative non-animal methods and ensuring that any facility that breeds, houses or uses animals in experiments develop and publish their own, individualised plans for ending that use.
Urge the Government to help end experiments on animals and accelerate the transition to superior, animal-free science.
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