Canadian Government Moves away from Toxicity Tesing on Animals, in Support of Alternatives to Animal Testing
By Kaitlyn Mitchell, Staff Lawyer for Animal Justice
The federal government has accepted recommendations from Animal Justice, in collaboration with the Canadian Society for Humane Science and Humane Canada™, to move away from toxicity testing on animals, and support alternatives to animal testing!
This is part of a long-awaited update to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, one of the most important laws to protect people and the environment from harmful toxic chemicals. Tragically, animals are often used in excruciating toxicity tests to understand the health and environmental risks posed by chemicals.
Toxicity tests are often some of the most painful and heartbreaking forms of animal research, and currently result in horrifying suffering for approximately 90,000 animals every year in Canada. These tests cause immense distress, and many animals don’t survive these brutal research procedures. A move away from toxicity tests on animals will spare countless animals from suffering. Non-animal testing methods are becoming increasingly available, and are often more reliable, as well as more time- and cost-effective.
This is huge progress. Canada is behind other industrialized nations when it comes to legislation to protect animals from cruel testing methods. This compassionate commitment is a big step in the right direction.
Thank you so much for supporting our efforts at Animal Justice and for helping us create meaningful change for laboratory animals. Please join us in celebrating this incredible victory!
The next step is for the government to put words into action. Please join us in calling on the Ministers of Health and Environment to phase out animal toxicity tests altogether, and fund work to develop cruelty-free alternatives that will lead us on the path to ending the use of animals in toxicity research completely.
