On the 19th February, I hosted a Petitions debate on two very important issues. The first petition was about the ending of animal toxicity tests and the prioritisation of non-animal methods, or NAMS. The second petition was about calling for banning the use of dogs for testing and research, citing their cognitive abilities and emotional range.
Animal testing is covered by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, which was amended in 2012 to include cephalopods as protected animals. Regulated procedures include acts that may cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm to animals. Animal testing is often cited by some in the industry as being necessary for various purposes, including drug development, veterinary medicines, and chemical or environmental safety testing. However, we have already made movements away from it, for example in the 1998 ban on testing of beauty products and cosmetics, and in a recent written answer, the Government confirmed that there are no laws mandating its use. Nevertheless, we are still in a very challenging situation, and these practices continue.
I was pleased that the Minister announced that they Goverment will be restarting the public attitudes to animal research survey, which was delayed during the pandemic. The next survey will take place in the coming months, and results will be published this Autumn. It was also announced that the fees for licenses will be increased shortly by the Home Office. By increasing the fees, and therefore the burden, perhaps there will be a shift away from the presumption of defaulting to testing with animals.
Furthermore, the Home Office will review the duraiton of licenses. Currenlty, these are typically five years. The Home Office will be reviewing this, to see whether a shorter duration of license would be more appropriate, and whether people coming back more often would put more challenge into the system.
I am pleased that the Government's position is clear that they want to replace the use of aniamls in scientific procedures and replace with non-animal alternatives wherever possible.
You can watch my speech in the debate above.
