MEPs action plan to end use of animals in research, testing

European lawmakers on Thursday demanded an EU-wide action plan with ambitious and achievable objectives as well as timelines for phasing out the use of animals in research and testing, reported Xinhua.

They adopted a resolution that urged the EU to accelerate the transition to a research system that does not use animals.

According to a European Commission report, animal testing for cosmetic products has been prohibited in the EU since 2009 but an estimated 12 million animals were still bred and killed for animal testing in 2017 without being used in actual experiments.

The resolution was adopted with 667 votes to 4.

The European Parliament said in a statement that MEPs want the reduction, refining and replacement of procedures on live animals for scientific purposes, as soon as it is scientifically possible and without lowering the level of protection for human health and the environment.

They called for sufficient medium- and long-term funding to be made available to ensure the fast development, validation and introduction of alternative testing methods. MEPs also said that scientists, researchers and technicians must be trained in using advanced non-animal models and in sharing best practices.

MEPs said although they understood that there are cases where animal experiments are still needed to gain scientific insights for certain diseases due to the current unavailability of non-animal methods, testing regimes must only take place where conditions are optimized to minimize pain, distress and suffering and protect the welfare of the animals concerned.