Ministers announce plans for animal testing overhaul to meet manifesto promise

Labour plans to end the use of dogs and non-human primates in tests for human medicines by at least 35% by 2030.

The Party said in its 2024 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.

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."

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.

The safety tests that the government saID will no longer use animals by the end of this year include the practice of giving rabbits a small dose of a new drug - called the pyrogen test.

It said this will be replaced by a test using human immune cells in a dish.

The RSPCA has cautiously welcomed the plan, describing it as a "significant step forward", but has urged the government to deliver.

Barney Reed, senior science and policy manager for the RSPCA's Animals in Science Department, said: "This strategy marks a significant step forward in ending the use of animals in science. We know the UK public wants to see action and supports this; with 77% of UK adults agreeing that the UK Government should commit to phasing out the use of animals in scientific research and testing."

He added: "While the UK Government itself describes the strategy as 'a start', and exact details for how some of the proposed actions will be enacted still need to be set out, the direction of travel is clear. We particularly welcome the recognition from the UK Government that "we are now at a tipping point in the transition to alternative methods", and that they "will not accept a slow pace of change when scientific and technical advances mean that a faster transition away from animal use is possible".

It comes as animal rights activists have staged a protest outside a controversial puppy breeding factory for over three years.

Camp Beagle has become the UK's longest-running protest camp of its kind, with campaigners gathering outside the gates since 2021 to protest against the medical experiments conducted there.

Activists claim that beagles are bred at the MBR Acres research site in Wyton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire before being transported to laboratories at around 16 weeks old for medical research.