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• Tue Nov 11 2025

Government sets out plan to phase out animal experiments

17 hours ago Share Save Pallab Ghosh Science Correspondent Share Save

Getty Drug tests on rabbits could end by the end of the year

The government has detailed for the first time how it aims to fulfil its manifesto pledge to work toward phasing out animal testing. The new plans include replacing animal testing for some major safety tests by the end of this year and cutting the use of dogs and non-human primates in tests for human medicines by at least 35% by 2030. The Labour Party said in its manifesto that it would "partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing". Science Minister Lord Vallance told BBC News that he could imagine a day where the use of animals in science was almost completely phased out but acknowledged that it would take time.

Animal experiments in the UK peaked at 4.14 million in 2015 driven mainly by a big increase then in genetic modification experiments ? mostly on mice and fish By 2020, the number had fallen sharply to 2.88 million as alternative methods were developed. But since then that decline has plateaued. Lord Vallance told BBC News that he wants to re-ignite the fast downward trend by replacing animal testing with experiments on animal tissues grown from stem cells, AI, and computer simulations. Asked by BBC News if he could envisage a world where animal tests were "near zero", he said: "I think that is possible, it's not possible anytime soon, the idea that we can eliminate animal use in the foreseeable future, I don't think is there. "Can we get very close to it? I think we can. Can we push faster than we have been? I think we can. Should we? We absolutely should." "This is a moment to really grasp that and drive these alternative approaches," he said. According to the government's newly detailed plans, by the end of 2025, scientists will stop using animals for some major safety tests and switch to newer lab methods that use human cells instead.

As a former government chief scientific advisor and former head of research for a major pharmaceutical company, he will know that many scientists believe reaching "near zero" tests on animals will be extremely difficult, even in the longer term. That includes those who are the greatest advocates of non-animal methods. "I very strongly believe that that is not possible for reasons of safety," said Prof Frances Balkwill, of Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London. Prof Balkwill is working on finding ways stop ovarian cancer recurring, using mice as well as non-animal approaches, of which she is a huge fan. "These non-animal methods will never replace the complexity that we can see when we have a tumour growing in a whole organism, such as a mouse," she said.

Kevin Church/BBC News This organ on a chip can hold small amounts of human cells from different organs and be used in place of animals for some types of experiments

One of the world's leading centres for developing alternatives to animal testing is the Centre for Predictive in vitro Models (CPM) at Queen Mary University of London. Researchers here are developing the extraordinarily sounding "organ-on-a-chip" technology, conjuring up alarming images of throbbing brains and beating hearts sitting on top of electronic circuits. The reality, though, is far less sci-fi. Some small pieces of glassware containing tiny samples of human cells from different organs from the body, such as the liver or brain, are connected to electrodes which send information to a computer. What is amazing, said the CPM's co-director, Prof Hazel Screen, is that cells from various parts of the body can be connected together to mimic how different organs work together. "In theory, you can build any organ on a chip. Then I can use it to test a new drug," she said. "And because we're taking human cells, we should be able to do better quality science."