I was shocked to learn that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has abandoned plans to end cruel toxicity tests on vertebrate animals by 2035. In 2019, former-EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler directed your agency to reduce testing on vertebrate animals by 30 percent by 2025 and to eliminate said testing by 2035.
But in a revised 2021 plan, your agency ditched those hard deadlines in favor of a new plan with vague goals to reduce animals that will be accomplished through a mere single case study each year starting in 2023.
EPA’s unjustifiable decision comes at a time when the broader scientific community, including government agencies, are acknowledging the overwhelming deficiencies of animal tests to translate to human biology, with an established 90% failure rate. With the passage of the FDA Modernization Act, the FDA no longer requires drug companies to submit results of animal tests to be considered for regulatory approval and the pharmaceutical industry is shifting away from animal tests in favor of human-relevant research methods. The EPA’s decision is markedly backwards and out of step with modern science.
It also goes against the goals of the Strategic Roadmap issued in 2018 and supported by sixteen federal agencies, including the EPA, affirming the need to adopt new approaches to reduce the use of animals.
EPA’s stated mission is to “Follow the science.” Your agency has long-published a list of acceptable NAMS that can safely and reliably replace the use of vertebrate animals.
Modern, human-relevant methods are needed to efficiently study the repercussions of chemical exposure in humans. This action is particularly needed to protect the well-being of low-income populations and communities of color, whom data shows are typically most involuntarily impacted by these toxins.
For progress, for people, and for animals, I strongly urge EPA to recommit to ending all toxicity tests on vertebrate animals by 2035.
