EU Citizens Want Plan to Phase Out Animal Testing In Europe

Brussels, Belgium: Almost three quarters (72 percent) of EU citizens think Europe should set targets and deadlines to phase out animal testing, according to a poll by Cruelty Free Europe. 

The poll, done in June this year, showed that 70 percent of adults across 12 EU member states agree that replacing animal tests with alternative methods should be an EU priority.

Results indicated that:
- 76 percent of adults in EU member states agree animal tests for household cleaning products should be banned in the EU.
- 74 percent agree that animal tests for cosmetics and ingredients are unacceptable in all circumstances.
- 66 percent agree that the EU should immediately end all animal tests.

Cruelty Free Europe is network of animal protection groups working to bring animal testing to an end across Europe. The organisation urge leaders to put in place a comprehensive plan to end reliance on outdated and unreliable animal research.

Dr Katy Taylor, its Director of Science, says: “The results of our poll show the EU public is ready for animal tests to become a thing of the past. Now it’s up to leaders to listen and put in place a plan that will end cruel and unnecessary suffering of animals in European laboratories once and for all.”

The most recent EU report on use of animals for research reveals 30 million animal experiments took place in Europe between 2015 - 2017. A Commission report on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU on protection of animals used for scientific purposes shows 12.60 million animals were bred for testing in 2017.