Cruelty Free Europe has called on the new EU Commission under Ursula von der Leyen to accelerate plans to phase out animal testing after statistics from 2021 and 2022 show that progress in reducing the use of animals in scientific research in the EU has stalled.

Despite the overall stagnation, there has been a notable 21% decrease in the number of animals used for regulatory testing since 2020, due to the increasing use of non-animal methods. European Commission statistics show 9.34 million animal tests in the EU and Norway in 2022. This is a decrease of 8% compared to 2021, but an increase of 7% since 2020.

France led the way in animal testing with 2.13 million tests in 2022, an increase of 29% since 2020. Germany conducted 1.73 million tests, Norway 1.41 million (mainly on fish) and Spain 1.12 million, an increase of 53% compared to 2020. These four countries accounted for 68% of animal testing in the EU in 2022.

The use of the ascites method increased by 18%

While tests causing “severe suffering” decreased slightly from 2020 to 2022, those causing “moderate suffering” increased by 19% to over 3.71 million, with 49% of tests involving moderate or severe suffering.

The use of certain animals increased: dogs by 2%, monkeys by 5%, horses, donkeys and crossbreeds by 5%, rabbits by 8%, goats by 69%, pigs by 18%, reptiles by 74% and cephalopods by 65%. At the same time, the use of cats fell by 15%, ferrets by 27%, guinea pigs by 23% and sheep by 12%.

Cruelty Free Europe reported a decrease in some tests on the RAT (Replace Animal Tests) list, but the use of the ascites method, which causes severe suffering, increased by 18% to 49,309 procedures.

1.2 million signatures

In response to the 2020 European Citizens’ Initiative “Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe Without Animal Testing”, the European Commission promised to develop a roadmap to phase out animal testing for chemical safety assessment.

Last month, Cruelty Free Europe, together with other non-governmental organisations, led a meeting with key EU stakeholders to develop this roadmap.

Dylan Underhill, Cruelty Free Europe’s Head of Public Affairs, emphasised the urgency:

“These statistics highlight the importance of accelerating efforts to end animal testing in Europe. As the EU enters a new political cycle, it is vital to build on existing work and double efforts to make this issue a priority. The 1.2 million people who signed our initiative show strong public support, and we are ready to help the European Commission take bold steps forward. Without this, we face stagnation and minor reductions instead of transformative change.”