End the use of animals for toxicity tests & prioritise non-animal methods (NAMs)
109,378 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 8 March 2023; it closed on 8 September 2023. The Government responded on 24 May 2023. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 19 February 2024.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
End the use of animals for toxicity tests & prioritise non-animal methods (NAMs)
Radically divert funding and evolve policy to implement the use of NAMs in all regulatory toxicity tests. Actively encourage use of NAMs, noting that this data is of superior human relevance compared to animal tests data. Establish clear pathways to develop & validate NAMs and end the use of animals
In 2021, 302,423 animals were used in regulatory tests, including 2,431 dogs and 1956 primates, primarily in legally required ‘tick box’ safety/toxicity studies. Yet, animal tests cannot reliably predict human responses to chemicals or pharmaceuticals, or provide adequate information regarding safety and efficacy. Evidence shows NAMs to be more predictive of human biology, more economically advantageous via new prospects in scientific innovation, and prevent the suffering of millions of animals.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 24 May 2023. Its summary:
The Government is already supporting technologies to reduce reliance on the use of animals in research and we will continue to review funding for non-animal methods as part of our normal processes.
The opening 333 words of the 704-word response:
The pace of technology in modelling is creating new opportunities to replace some traditional animal “models” and the Government is already supporting and accelerating advances in biomedical science and technologies to reduce reliance on the use of animals in research and importantly to avoid some of the scientific limitations of animal models of human diseases. We will continue to review funding for non-animal methods as part of our normal processes. Although we all want to reduce and, as far as possible, replace the use of animals in scientific procedures with non-animal alternatives for human safety and it is still necessary to rely on some testing through the carefully regulated use of animals in scientific research.
The UK has a strict regime of regulations to avoid unnecessary testing. Under UK law no animal testing may be conducted except for a permissible purpose if there is no non-animal alternative available, where the number of animals used is the minimum needed to achieve the scientific benefit, and where the potential harm to animals is limited to that needed to achieve the scientific benefit. These purposes include: to assess the safety of medicines or chemicals; protect the environment; allow the development of medicines; and conduct basic scientific research to understand how biological systems and processes work. The use of animals in such testing is strictly limited to purposes that are necessary to achieve the scientific benefits.
Animal testing is required by all global medicines regulators, including the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), to protect humans and the wider environment. Without the testing of potential medicines on animals the development, registration and marketing of new, safe, and effective medicines would not be possible. The animal species for testing of potential medicines are specifically chosen to give as much human relevant information as possible and to avoid species specific reactions which would not predict human effects. Many products which would be unsafe or ineffective in humans are detected through animal testing thus avoiding harm to humans.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 537, came from Saffron Walden.
107,999 of the signatures were from the UK and 1,379 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Saffron Walden | 537 |
| Brentwood and Ongar | 491 |
| North West Cambridgeshire | 432 |
| Huntingdon | 402 |
| Hertford and Stortford | 392 |
| Knowsley | 391 |
| Epping Forest | 384 |
| Garston and Halewood | 357 |
| Epsom and Ewell | 349 |
| Chelmsford | 341 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 17,213 |
| East of England | 14,627 |
| North West | 13,402 |
| London | 10,208 |
| South West | 9,451 |
| West Midlands | 9,282 |
| East Midlands | 7,971 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 7,519 |
| Scotland | 6,389 |
| Wales | 5,428 |
| North East | 4,201 |
| Northern Ireland | 1,494 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 19 February 2024. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/633591.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
5ecf76e3bd3f0a65… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.