Recognising the hundreds of Yeovil constituents who [K signed a petition on animal testing, Adam Dance highlighted that the failur [6D [K failure rate for drugs from animal testing is around 92%. He stressed the c [1D [K cruelty involved in such tests and called for stronger regulation beyond in [2D [K increasing the number of inspectors. Dance also inquired about the Governme [8D [K Government's steps towards phasing out animal toxicity testing and requeste [8D [K requested clarity on guidance for AI-informed decision-making.

He thanks the Minister for outlining progress but ar [2D [K argues that the 'Replacing animals in science' strategy's targets should ai [2D [K aim to end all animal experiments, not just reduce or eliminate certain typ [3D [K types. He calls on the Minister to engage with campaigners advocating for H [1D [K Herbie's law.

Mr Mayer argued for the ethical replacement of anima [5D [K animal experiments with alternative methods, citing economic benefits such [K as market entry acceleration by up to two years, potentially saving £7.8 mi [2D [K million. He highlighted public support, noting that 76% of people want fund [4D [K funding redirected from animal experiments to non-animal methods and cited [K examples of animal suffering in experiments.

Welcomed the Government's commitment to phasing out [K animal testing but highlighted challenges, such as MBR Acres nearly closing [7D [K closing due to activist pressure. Questioned the effectiveness of legislati [9D [K legislation against protests and raised concerns over email lobbying laws. [K Asked for updates on alternative methods and international engagement, incl [4D [K including timelines and funding details.

Chris Hinchliff highlighted the moral and ethical co [2D [K concerns surrounding animal testing, arguing that the suffering inflicted o [1D [K on animals often outweighs the benefits. He cited the need for tough penalt [6D [K penalties on cruelty towards animals and mentioned Labour's agenda to tackl [5D [K tackle issues like puppy farming and end trail hunting. Hinchliff emphasize [9D [K emphasized the importance of a phased transition away from animal experimen [9D [K experimentation by 2035 through Herbie's law, which aims to reduce sufferin [8D [K suffering and improve scientific methods.

Danny Beales thanked the lead Member for her debate [K on animal testing, mentioning a constituent's concern about new approach me [2D [K methodologies that could reduce animal suffering. He suggested that the UK, [3D [K UK, being a leader in both life sciences and AI, should focus on joint Gove [4D [K Government work and funding to replace animal testing with AI modelling.

Chambers emphasised the need to support life science [7D [K sciences in moving away from animal testing, highlighting advancements like [4D [K like computer modelling and AI. He raised concerns about offshoring animal [K testing due to less stringent regulations elsewhere. Additionally, he advoc [5D [K advocated for dual licensing of drugs that have passed safety tests in anim [4D [K animals and called for an update to prescribing rules under the Veterinary [K Surgeons Act 1966.

The hon. Member is making a sincere and excellent sp [2D [K speech, and just made a brilliant point. As we heard earlier, in 2023 some [K 2.6 million animals were still being tested on, which is a moral atrocity. [K Does the hon. Member agree that the move away from animal testing should le [2D [K lead to greater investment in testing that will drive better scientific out [3D [K outcomes?

The current system is failing on welfare, science, a [1D [K and the pace of change. The Government's strategy lacks ambitious targets a [1D [K and statutory backing for a 35% reduction in animal testing by 2030. There [K are concerns about inadequate care and funding conflicts of interest within [6D [K within the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU).

Supports the implementation of Herbie's law to phase [5D [K phase out dog testing in medical procedures as soon as possible.

Welcoming the Government's commitment to act on the [K recommendations of the Competition and Markets Authority, Johanna Baxter em [2D [K emphasised the moral issue of animal testing alongside its scientific ineff [5D [K inefficacy. She pointed out that more than 60% of UK households own pets, h [1D [K highlighting a deep concern for their welfare. Baxter also highlighted biol [4D [K biological differences between dogs and humans which make them poor predict [7D [K predictors in drug development, leading to high failure rates despite signi [5D [K significant costs. She exclaims 'Mo Meowlam!' without further elaborati [9D [K elaboration.

Pays tribute to the lead MP for her expertise on ani [3D [K animal welfare issues and highlights the importance of being evidence-based [14D [K evidence-based in discussions. Raises concerns about the forced swim test, [K questioning its scientific validity and purpose, and asks if the Government [10D [K Government has considered revoking licenses still granted until 2028. Discu [5D [K Discusses conflicts between commercial pressures and the Government's desir [5D [K desire to reduce animal testing. Expresses hope for progress on non-animal [K methods (NAMs) with £75 million investment in a new UK centre. Mentions pot [3D [K potential of AI, like Isambard-AI supercomputer at University of Bristol, t [1D [K to significantly reduce animal tests.

The speaker believes it is time to end animal testin [6D [K testing with urgency, driven by public sentiment. He highlighted that over [K 2.6 million procedures took place in Great Britain in 2024, causing pain an [2D [K and distress to living creatures. Lee discussed the need for a clear strate [6D [K strategy to phase out animal testing wherever alternatives exist, emphasizi [9D [K emphasizing scaling up investment in non-animal methods and fast-tracking v [1D [K validation so regulators can rely on them.

Mary Foy highlighted the need for more humane treatm [6D [K treatment and better regulation in animal testing, noting that there were a [1D [K around 2.6 million scientific procedures involving animals in Great Britain [7D [K Britain in 2024, representing a negligible decrease from the previous year. [5D [K year. She expressed concern over the lack of clear statutory targets, firm [K timetable, and proper accountability within the Government's strategy to ph [2D [K phase out animal use in science. Foy also raised concerns about the ethical [7D [K ethical treatment of dogs and non-human primates used for testing.

The speaker thanked the hon. Member for North Ayrshi [6D [K Ayrshire and Arran for introducing the topic, mentioning 238 constituents w [1D [K who signed a petition and many more who have written about it. He outlined [K three key reasons to move towards ending animal testing: unethical treatmen [8D [K treatment in many cases, detachment from recognizing animals as living bein [4D [K beings, and availability of alternatives like AI and human cells/tissues.

He highlighted the previous Conservative Government' [11D [K Government's measures to improve animal welfare, noting a reduction in the [K number of animals used for scientific procedures. He stressed that animals [K can be used in research only when no alternative methods are available and [K mentioned the need for more work despite the decrease from 4.1 million in 2 [1D [K 2015 to 2.6 million in 2024.

The number of animal testing procedures in 2024 was [K 2.6 million, a slight decrease from the previous year but still too high fo [2D [K for Ruth Jones. She supports Labour's new strategy to phase out unnecessary [11D [K unnecessary tests on animals but urges embedding targets into law and intro [5D [K introducing Herbie's Law to strengthen commitment. She also highlights conc [4D [K concerns about the Animals in Science Regulation Unit's licensing regime an [2D [K and enforcement issues, with 22,000 animals suffering due to non-compliance [14D [K non-compliance reported by the ASRU. Despite acknowledging the Minister's outlined timeta [6D [K timetable, she points out that millions of unnecessary tests are still bein [4D [K being conducted annually. She questions how generic project licences can be [2D [K be issued without full knowledge and asks for details on the review process [7D [K process.

Agrees with the need for younger people to take up t [1D [K the cause and supports the phasing out of animal testing, particularly dogs [4D [K dogs, almost immediately.