U.K. Government Tightens Rules for Veterinary Vaccines

July 2010

In 2009, PETA learned that certain tests for veterinary vaccines in the U.K. could easily be discontinued, and PETA U.K. pressed the British government for information on how it was ensuring that animals were not being killed in these tests. PETA eventually learned that not only was the government failing in its responsibility to prevent these tests from being conducted, a government agency was also actually charging companies to waive the tests. In response to PETA U.K.’s inquiry, the agency stopped charging for the waiver, but PETA U.K. continued to push for the animal tests to be stopped altogether, and as a result, the U.K. government announced this year that it was changing its policies and putting specific procedures in place to make sure these animal tests would not be conducted. Hundreds of animals of many species, including chickens, cats, dogs, and cows, may be spared from these painful veterinary vaccine tests.