Article by Ioannis Gianniotis
Each year, on the 24th of April, a day of remembrance, protest and reflection has been set. The World Day for Animals in Laboratories showcases support and highlights the suffering, death and exploitation of many innocent animals in the name of science and scientific progress. From testing cosmetics to developing new drugs, animal testing has been one of the biggest moral and ethical dilemmas that society still faces. While it has indeed helped with the advancement of specific scientific achievements, the dilemma still remains: Does scientific development justify animal cruelty and torture? As public awareness grows and new technological advancements emerge, it’s important for the global community to rethink and reconsider these cruel methods of testing. This article will focus on how the European Union confronts this dilemma and whether or not its policies go far enough to protect animals from laboratory cruelty.
Animal testing remains a widespread practice in laboratories, with millions of animals tortured every day for scientific or other human-centered ambitions. According to official statistics from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), more than 110 million animals are subjected to experimentation or being killed as a result each year. Rats, mice, monkeys, dogs, cats, frogs and birds are among the animals that face such torture. There are plenty of reasons why experimental research on animals is usually conducted: in the pharmaceutical industry , it is used for testing the safety of new drugs and products or possible side-effects before human trials, while in the cosmetic industry it is used for preventing and assessing the safety from all the chemicals that the products include. But besides those sectors -and according to UK government officials- a huge amount of animal testing was conducted for educational and research purposes. Specifically, out of the 2.68 million animal procedures recorded in the UK in 2023, 29% of them were conducted out of curiosity and experimentation reasons, while 45% were focused on the creation and breeding of genetically altered or hybrid animals.
The growing public awareness about animal testing and the new technological advancements seem to have reduced animal testing and created new, firm laws in order to protect lab animals. A 2024 survey from “Morning Consult” for a physicians committee showed that almost 80% of Americans tend to prefer new, more modern research and testing methods and stop involving the current animal testing methods. Similarly, the EU has tried to apply similar agendas in order to eliminate ill animal treatment. But what is the EU doing in order to eliminate and restrain animal testing ?
As far as animal protection is concerned, the EU has made some important steps towards a secure and strict legal framework for lab animals with directives like 2010/63/EU. This directive aims to protect animals in the research field and to gradually replace experiments with non-animals methods. It’s based on the 3Rs principle and all the relevant legal entities need to integrate them : Replace animals with non-animal methods and if not possible, reduce, meaning using the minimum number of animals while still obtaining results and additionally, refine by providing less stressful and better conditions for the animals. On a similar note, the EU has set Directive 2003/15/EC, which improves the provisions of Directive 76/768/EEC. These Directives focus on animal testing in the cosmetic industry by banning the utilization of lab animals for cosmetic products or ingredients. Also, since 2009 there has been a prohibition in the EU market for cosmetic products that use ingredients tested by animals. Cosmetic industries that supply in the global market might need to differ their methods to comply with the EU regulations. Already from the years 2007 to 2011, the Commission funded over 230 million euros for research initiatives in the field of alternative, cruelty free methods , such as SEURAT (Safety Evaluation Ultimately Replacing Animal Testing). Another initiative that aims to promote and discover alternative methods is the EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM), which was established under Directive 2010/63/EU and follows the 3Rs principle.
A huge impact on EU initiatives has also been made by its own citizens. The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) ‘Save Cruelty-free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe without Animal Testing’ , that gathered over 1.2 million signatures, managed to reach the Commission in 2023 and became the fifth successful ECI related to animal or environmental well-being issues. The Commission’s response was positive, showcasing their support for the public demand to reduce or change methods in need of animal testing. It presented their achievements regarding animal testing in the EU and cosmetic industry while also promising an organized strategic plan in order to expand similar actions to the EU’s chemical legislation with animal-free safety assessments for medicines, pesticides or regulations like REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals). For educational and research purposes, the Commission also highlights the alignment of efforts in all the EU countries and the hosting of workshops and training for scientists to accelerate all these efforts for alternative and more humane experiment methods.
Although the World Day for Animals in Laboratories has just passed, the conversation around animal testing must not be confined to a single day of remembrance. The lab dilemma, this debate around animal testing remains a significant moral challenge. The EU has tried to lead many actions in order to reduce lab experiments with progressive regulations, fundings and bans. Initiatives like the ECI about ‘Save Cruelty-free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe without Animal Testing’ show that European citizens can shift their public opinions to policy. As technological advancements grow and offer modern, more accurate and humane alternatives, the question that remains isn’t whether we can replace animal testing, but how quickly and how much we are willing to change and improve. While there is still a lot of progress that the EU needs to improve regarding animal testing, the regulations that have been implemented and the strategy that follows and plans to follow, show that there is no need for science to come at the cost of animal suffering.
References
- Cruelty Free International. (2023). Facts and figures on animal testing. Cruelty Free International. Retrieved April 25, 2025, from https://crueltyfreeinternational.org/about-animal-testing/facts-and-figures-animal-testing
- European Commission. (n.d.). EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM). The Joint Research Centre: EU Science Hub. Retrieved 2025, from https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/projects-and-activities/reference-and-measurement/european-union-reference-laboratories/eu-reference-laboratory-alternatives-animal-testing-eurl-ecvam_en
- European Commission. (2013, March 11). Full EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics enters into force. European Commission Pres. Retrieved April, 2025, from https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_13_210
- European Commission. (2023, July 25). Commission acts to accelerate phasing out of animal testing in response to a European Citizens’ Initiative. European Commission. Retrieved April, 2025, from https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3993
- European Medicine Agency. (2025, March 24). Ethical use of animals in medicine testing | European Medicines Agency (EMA). EMA. Retrieved April 25, 2025, from https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/human-regulatory-overview/research-development/ethical-use-animals-medicine-testing
- Morning Consult. (2024, October 2). Physicians Committee Survey Finds Most Americans Favor Ending Animal Research. Physicians Committee. Retrieved 2025, from https://www.pcrm.org/news/good-science-digest/physicians-committee-survey-finds-most-americans-favor-ending-animal
- PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS. (n.d.). Animal Testing Facts and Statistics. PETA. Retrieved April, 2025, from https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/animals-used-experimentation-factsheets/animal-experiments-overview/
