Animal testing horror must end – decades of experiments have wasted resources

After decades of campaigning, the tide is finally turning on the use of animals in laboratory experiments. The government – soon to be followed by the EU – has published its strategy to make such experiments a thing of the past . The UK strategy is set to address all types of animal experimentation, from curiosity-driven studies in which animals may be electrocuted, burnt, deliberately brain damaged, restrained and isolated, to those required for regulatory safety assessment purposes.

It’s a historic first but will it be enough? It promises that by the end of next year, no more animals will have their sensitive eyes damaged by chemicals in eye irritation tests, and no animals will have to endure skin allergy tests. Botulinum testing, unless required for “very defined” medical circumst