Last year, the new Labour Government committed to “partner with scientists, industry and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. There have been several questions from MPs, the public, and ourselves, about who will be involved and what this will look like in practice. So, we were very pleased to be invited to attend a meeting with the Government to discuss this plan.

What did the meeting involve?

On Wednesday 14^th May, alongside 10 other animal protection organisations, I made my way to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in London for a roundtable meeting hosted by the Office for Life Sciences, and chaired by Lord Vallance, the Lords Minister for  Science, Innovation and Technology, who is leading on the plan.

The meeting involved Lord Vallance and colleagues from the Office for Life Sciences outlining the overarching aims for the upcoming plan, before providing the invited organisations the opportunity to share what we would like to see included, and the importance of our input.

We were very pleased to hear that Lord Vallance believes that there has never been a better time to eliminate the use of animal models in research and testing, and was very keen to discuss our thoughts and ideas on what should be included.

So, what are our thoughts?

A strategy for ALL areas of animal research

We were very pleased to hear that the Government’s strategy will include all areas of animal research, not just regulatory testing. This is fantastic news as a charity whose focus is basic and applied research, which consistently has the highest number of procedures using animals in Great Britain.

Our biggest priority for inclusion in the strategy is the need to strengthen current regulatory frameworks of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, particularly around the implementation of replacement. We know from the 2023 Rawle report that current frameworks are failing to ensure that replacement is being implemented as it legally should be, which means opportunities to use non-animal methods are already being missed. It’s vital that this is rectified as part of the plan going forward. Two of our core areas of work are focused on this – improvements to the current project licensing system, and improved training and guidance around replacement and non-animal methods for license holders and reviewers of applications.

Shifting the culture to encourage non-animal methods

Another priority is around the need for a behavioural shift in research culture, alongside an increase in development and use of non-animal methods. It is key that researchers and establishments are encouraged to use non-animal methods, and that initiatives are put in place around funding, training and upskilling to facilitate their use. Similarly, it’s also key that behavioural changes include journals to ensure that publication bias is eliminated.

Keeping us engaged

We also believe that there is a need for continued, positive engagement with the Government throughout the development and implementation of the strategy across all stakeholder groups. We are very grateful to have had the opportunity to meet with Lord Vallance and provide input ahead of the plan’s publication, and appreciate that this is just the beginning of work towards eliminating the use of animals in research and testing. We reiterated to the Minister, alongside the other organisations in attendance, that we are well placed to offer expert advice and feedback as the strategy progresses, and always welcome further engagement opportunities, to ensure that the strategy will be a success.

If you’d like to read more about other key areas that we would like to see included in the upcoming strategy, we also wrote to Lord Vallance ahead of the roundtable.

What’s next?

Now that we have had a chance to input directly into the strategy at the roundtable meeting, we will be following up with the Minister to reiterate some of the key aspects that were discussed, and remind him that we are keen to work alongside the Government to see an end to the use of animals in research and testing. We will also continue to focus on our core areas of work that feed into our calls, and look forward to seeing the publication of the strategy soon.