Breakthrough: EPA Will End Reliance on Animal Tests

PETA Science Work Pays Off: This Historic Decision Will Prevent Countless Animals From Being Poisoned in Cruel Chemical Tests

For Immediate Release:
September 10, 2019

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

In a landmark announcement made today, with scientists from PETA and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine as witnesses, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) committed to ending its reliance on toxicity tests on mammals by 2035. The historic announcement included a memo outlining steps to reduce testing on mammals by 30% by 2025 and to increase funding for the development of non-animal test methods.

The move follows almost two decades of sustained and strategic initiatives by PETA scientists, including the following:

• Meeting with researchers and regulators to discuss the replacement of tests on animals
• Submitting scientific comments showing the problems with animal tests
• Helping to change laws in order to restrict experiments on animals and direct funds toward the development of modern, non-animal tests
• Providing government and corporate scientists with educational opportunities and coauthoring scientific papers with experts from the government, industry, and academia highlighting the numerous ways animal-free testing is superior to poisoning animals
• Holding protests, including sending a giant costumed “bunny” to trail then–presidential candidate Al Gore

“For decades, there has been a misguided reliance on cruel and scientifically flawed animal tests, and the EPA’s decision marks the beginning of the end of them,” says Dr. Amy Clippinger, director of PETA’s Regulatory Testing Department. “PETA’s scientists will be collaborating with regulatory agencies and companies to help them switch to efficient and effective, non-animal testing approaches and finally replace toxicity tests on all animals.”

The EPA’s decision comes in the wake of an announcement by the Dutch government that it will end animal testing by 2025—a move that followed input from scientists with PETA and PETA U.K. The decisions by the Netherlands and the EPA are a clear signal of an imminent worldwide end to regulatory toxicity testing on animals.

For more information, please visit PETA.org/RTD. or click here.