Animal rights groups have gathered?more than 1.2?million signatures for demanding that a plan be in place by 2024?for how the bloc will phase out all animal testing.

Plotting a path towards a total phase-out was the last of three demands under the ¡°save cruelty-free cosmetics¡± campaign, which also aims to extend an existing EU ban to cover cosmetic ingredients and to ensure future environmental toxicity testing does not involve animals. The success of the European citizens¡¯ initiative means the European Commission must respond to the demands and the European Parliament will hold a hearing on the issue.

Kirk Leech, executive director of the European Animal Research Association,?said the petitioners¡¯ success was ¡°an existential threat to the use of animals for science in Europe¡± and that publicly funded, curiosity-driven research was a particular target. He said the ¡°politically inspired attempt¡± to end animal use in biomedical research was a ¡°potentially historic juncture¡± for those working in such fields, who should ask themselves ¡°what we can do collectively to halt this¡±.

Roman Stilling, a researcher at the German Primate Centre?who leads the initiative Understand Animal Testing (Tierversuche verstehen or TVV), which represents public research institutes in Germany, said the latest petition was ¡°a bit more clever¡± than previous campaigns as the phase-out call was ¡°quite well hidden¡±.

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A 2015 petition?called?¡°¡±?led with the call to phase out animal testing and attracted?more than 1.1 million signatures. In response to it, the it ¡°does share the conviction that animal testing should be phased out¡±, but only when this?was ¡°scientifically possible¡±.

Julia Baines, science policy manager for the animal rights group Peta, which sponsored the initiative, said campaigners had been transparent about its goals. ¡°All three are listed right next to where people sign,¡± she said, adding that EU officials had checked the petition for clarity. The text calls on EU officials to prepare a draft law that includes ¡°ambitious and achievable science-based targets¡± to reduce animal use. ¡°We need to make sure the most scientifically valid methods are used,¡± Dr Baines said.

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¡°There is no alternative for the type of research we are doing,¡± said Christelle Baunez, a researcher with France¡¯s National Centre for Scientific Research and chair of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies¡¯ animal research committee. She said that, although animal alternatives were becoming available for some toxicology work, non-animal methods for probing high-level brain functions were nowhere near the horizon.

She said the killing of animals at the end of an experiment was upsetting. She added: ¡°You need to like your animals enough, but not too much, otherwise it¡¯s really too difficult at the end. That¡¯s the balance we have to find. It¡¯s constant pain, but in a way we are also driven by the excitement of the findings and the satisfaction to get results and make progress.¡±

In 2021 the European Parliament voted ?in favour of a resolution for fresh EU?plans and actions to ¡°accelerate the transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education¡±.?MEPs are?set to hold their hearing on the latest citizens¡¯ initiative on 25 May.

ben.upton@timeshighereducation.com