Five changes we want the UK government to make to Life Sciences Strategy
We’ve teamed up with animal organisations Humane Society International, Animal Aid, Naturewatch Foundation and The UK Centre for Animal Law to make sure the government keeps its commitment to reducing and replacing cruel animal testing and invests in the alternatives.
The House of Lords is currently reviewing the government’s life science strategy. It wants to make the UK the best place in the world to invest in life sciences and tackle challenges like cancer and dementia.
Here are FIVE things we are asking the government to do:
- Reduce animal testing. The number of animal experiments increased between 2011 and 2016. As many as 358,728 more animal tests took place in 2015 than in 2011. This simply isn’t good enough.
- Invest in alternatives. The government is looking to increase its science budget. To help reduce and replace animal experiments we want to see more funding to help develop alternatives to cruel animal testing.
- Increase transparency. UK law currently means that much animal testing is shrouded in secrecy. Despite plenty of support to review this, the government has so far failed to take any action.
- Replace animal experiments in life sciences. There is a real opportunity to support high quality science that benefits animals, humans, the environment and the economy. There are more and more alternatives to animal testing emerging, including tests using stem cells and computer models. These alternatives can be faster, cheaper and more reliable.
- Use Brexit as an opportunity. Brexit shouldn’t mean a lowering in standards but an opportunity to improve. It’s a chance for the UK government to increase transparency and support the development of more human-relevant alternatives to animal testing.
Michelle Thew, CEO of Cruelty Free International, says: “The UK should be a world leader in developing non-animal based testing and ending the unnecessary suffering of animals. Brexit is an ideal opportunity to make a real change to the lives of millions of animals. Let’s work together to make the UK a kinder place for animals.”