Ask your MP to Pledge Cruelty Free!

Did you know that many of the products you use in your daily life such as cleaning supplies, cosmetics and even household appliances will have been linked to tests on animals at some point on their way to your home – whether you like it or not?

We can do so much better! Non-animal alternatives can produce better results with no animal suffering.

We need the government to do more to phase out the cruel use of animals in science. With a general election on the horizon and political parties starting to prepare their manifestos this is a critically important time to make sure that MPs know how much their constituent’s care.

Across the country, animals are suffering in cruel experiments under a system that is stuck in the past. The system for keeping us safe from dangerous chemicals currently demands that testing is done on animals. This is despite the fact that non-animal alternatives can produce better results.

As the world of science and public opinion moves forward, the policies and laws that set the rules are holding us back. This has real world consequences. We know that 92% of new drugs fail in clinical trials despite passing extensive pre-clinical trials, including animal tests, which suggested they were safe and effective. Many modern non-animal approaches to safety testing have been shown to be far more reliable and are known to outperform animal tests. Non animal approaches to skin sensitisation, for example, can predict human outcomes with up to 84% accuracy. The widely used mouse test is just 58% accurate. Embracing a cruelty free future has the potential to deliver better results for humans as well as animals but there are multiple hurdles, from funding to regulation, that make it harder for new animal-free technologies to be developed and used.

Despite the opportunities for progress, recent decisions by the government have taken the UK backward. Earlier this year the government admitted that it had secretly abandoned the ban on testing cosmetics ingredients on animals that was originally introduced in 1998. Following legal pressure from Cruelty Free International the government partially reversed their decision and introduced a limited ban, but with roughly only 20% of cosmetics ingredients covered they haven’t gone far enough.

By taking the simple step of emailing your MP today you can raise your voice for the animals who suffer in laboratories. All MPs need to know the strength of feeling on this issue so that current and future governments will make the right choices for the benefit of the people of the UK and the animals we all care so much about.

It is vital that MPs recognise the strength of feeling among their constituents. Use our quick and easy tool to contact your MP today and put alternatives to animal testing at the forefront of their political agenda!