The European Commission has proposed a revision to the EU’s Protocol on Animal Welfare that is intended to unify standards across all member states and to update the legislation. Among the proposals is the requirement that alternative testing methods be used when available and that the use of animals be reduced to the minimum necessary. The proposal also seeks to ban testing on great apes, except in the case of species survival or a disease outbreak. The revision also requires ethical reviews of animal experimentation and project authorization, as well as sets housing and care requirements. The European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing is expected to play an important role in introducing alternative methods to animal testing. A previous law, the EU’s ban on all testing of cosmetics on animal, will take full effect next year.

Source: European Commission