Animal testing is a high concern for the Commission, which is pursuing the goal of ultimately phasing out all animal testing for scientific purposes, including for the regulation of chemicals, as soon as scientifically possible. The REACH Regulation already prescribes that animal testing must be undertaken only as a last resort.
On 25 July 2023, the Commission adopted a Communication in response to the initiative ‘Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics - Commit to a Europe Without Animal Testing’. As one of the commitments under this Communication, the Commission has started to develop a roadmap that will outline milestones and concrete actions to be implemented in the short to long term, to further reduce animal testing and with the ultimate aim to transition to an animal-free regulatory system under all relevant pieces of chemical legislation. To kick off the work on the roadmap, the Commission organised a workshop on 11 and 12 December 2023 with Member States and stakeholders.
The European Commission is also a partner and co-chairing the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA), which aims to accelerate the development, validation and acceptance of alternative approaches to animal testing.