Politics Home | Cruelty Free International calls for government action on animal testing strategy

The UK can be a global leader in regulatory science innovation and animal protection. To achieve this, the government must ensure that its Strategy to Replace Animals in Science delivers real, measurable progress and establishes the foundations for fundamental change.

In 2026, Cruelty Free International (CFI) will be pushing ministers to deliver the commitments it has set for this year, in full and on time, while asking them to plan to go much further in the longer term.

We will provide clear, factual analysis of progress made and key milestones reached, identify gaps where ambition or detail falls short, and hold the government to account for timely delivery on their commitments. Through rigorous scrutiny and constructive advocacy, we will demonstrate the need for a programme of change that not only delivers the strategy as written but also lays the groundwork for advancing beyond it.

The strategy could be a landmark moment, but only if it is delivered in full and on time

• The publication of the UK strategy signals a turning point in how we approach science, innovation and public health.
• It offers genuine potential to accelerate the phase-out of animal testing and to modernise the science – bringing forward ethical, innovative and human-relevant methods and ultimately delivering better outcomes.
• This can only be achieved through sustained implementation and delivery, appropriate resourcing, expert oversight and proper accountability.

Analysing what the strategy actually commits the government to deliver

• CFI is thoroughly analysing the key commitments, setting out what it promises, what it enables, what the impact will be, what is required to deliver it, and how it could be made even more impactful.
• Crucially, our analysis aims to highlight both the opportunities and shortcomings of the strategy, to demonstrate that we can and should be optimistic while ensuring that we hold the strategy to the highest scrutiny, and never stop demanding greater ambition until every experiment on animals has ended.

Accountability to drive public trust and scientific progress

• Without transparent reporting and accountability, the strategy will remain a list of aspirations rather than a roadmap for action with clear and concrete deliverables driven by targets, milestones and robust timeframes.
• The strategy must not gather dust on the shelf. It must be a living and active document that is a tool for driving change.
• We will push the government to deliver on its commitment to set up clear and impartial accountability processes of its own, but will also take responsibility for holding them accountable in a positive, constructive yet challenging way. This will include pushing for stronger mechanisms for transparent monitoring, and asking for clear and enforceable milestones, confirmed targets, and independent assessment of progress.
• Responsible ministers must be held accountable for making every effort to meet targets and, where possible, to push beyond them. We will make the case for clear ministerial duties to drive action from the government.
• There should also be a regular and transparent process for updating timelines, targets, and milestones.
• A key element of accountability is the inclusion of civil society organisations to draw in their trusted expertise and encourage public confidence. Systems and processes for accountability must therefore include transparent mechanisms for involving key stakeholders such as civil society organisations and NGOs.

The UK must be more ambitious if it wants to lead internationally

• The strategy should be a baseline from which to build UK leadership on the international stage and not a ceiling for ambition.
• With ambitious and potentially far-reaching commitments in the United States and the European Union, the UK risks falling behind international peers unless it accelerates innovation in human-relevant science and takes bold steps to accelerate the uptake of non-animal approaches throughout the sciences.

2026 deadlines in the Strategy

Actions that must be started in the first half of 2026:

• Publish areas of research interest for non-animal methods
• Quantify annually the inclusion of second species testing in clinical trial applications
• Initiate provision of ministerial leadership on the development and adoption of non-animal methods
• Initiate formal involvement of DSIT in the direct commissioning and receipt of advice from the Animals in Science Committee
• Enable better advice on non-animal methods
• Restart the survey on public attitudes to animal research
• Establish KPIs with which to assess the delivery of this strategy

Measures the government must deliver by the end of 2026:

• Create a Preclinical Translational Models Hub
• Establish the UK as a global leader in the science and regulatory application of non-animal methods
• Increase the visibility of available non-animal methods to facilitate their uptake
• Accelerate uptake of non-animal methods through reform of animals in science regulation
• Establish a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM)
• Prepare specific projects to help secure international acceptance of new test methods, after UKCVAM is established
• Publish regulatory agency-accepted non-animal methods and priorities for future development and validation
• Establish a programme to support the upskilling of regulatory assessors
• Establish data‑sharing frameworks to support equitable access to public and private data sources
• Enhance data curation and quality control, and develop regulatory frameworks for data use
• Develop mechanisms to enable regulators to provide pre‑submission feedback

Work that must begin once 2026 funding is released by the government and research funders:

• Increase investment in the development of non-animal methods
• Enable funders to thoroughly scrutinise the apparent need for animal research in funding decisions
• Provide foundational training for early-career researchers in non-animal methods
• Expand challenge‑led innovation for non-animal methods
• Increase investment in data‑driven biology

We welcome the strategy’s ambition in setting a framework of commitments to guide action in the short to medium term, some of which will require urgent work and rapid delivery. It represents a strong start for the government, and an approach that could put the UK in a leadership position if words are matched by actions. Now it must deliver. In many ways, the real work starts here and must continue well beyond these first deadlines.

For more detail or to support our work, visit www.crueltyfreeinternational.org or email [email protected].