EU publishes long-awaited roadmap to phase out animal testing in chemical safety assessment

The European Commission has released a roadmap to phase out animal testing in chemical safety assessments, marking a significant step towards ending nearly half a million invasive procedures conducted on fish, rabbits, rats, and other animals each year. This development is a result of collaboration among stakeholders and the efforts of over 1.2 million citizens advocating for innovative and humane science. The roadmap underscores the EU's commitment to eliminating animal testing in safety assessments and acknowledges that non-animal approaches can improve human health, environmental protection, and animal welfare.

Each year, around 500,000 procedures using animals are carried out in the EU to meet legislative requirements for chemical safety assessments. These practices involve subjecting animals to harmful tests, such as force-feeding toxic chemicals and conducting developmental and reproductive toxicity tests that result in suffering and death. The focus now shifts from ambition to implementation, with key legislation like REACH under scrutiny. It is crucial for regulatory bodies and Member States to execute the roadmap consistently and transparently in alignment with the roadmap's objectives, following the success of the ECI, Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics, led by five NGOs.