Welsh MP pushes for ‘Animal-Free Science’

Stephen Price

A Welsh MP has continued her calls for the UK Government to move away from using animals in scientific research – one year to the day since Labour published its Replacing Animals in Science Strategy

Yesterday (11 November), Ruth Jones, Labour MP for Newport West and Islwyn, sponsored a special PETA reception at the Palace of Westminster, where she joined more than 35 MPs, along with scientists and policymakers, to support animal-free science, following decades of campaigning by PETA and its supporters.

Attendees took stock of progress, as PETA called on MPs to encourage every UK university, company, and laboratory that uses, houses, or breeds animals for experiments to set a clear, measurable plan for phasing out cruel and unreliable experiments.

The event was attended by other MPs, including Bob Blackman CBE MP, Adrian Ramsay MP and Irene Campbell MP, as well as actor and animal advocate Amanda Abbington, who appeared alongside Kate Lawler, Gail Porter and other celebrities in a new PETA video reacting to footage of animals suffering in cruel laboratory experiments.

Amanda spoke to attendees about the importance of ending inhumane animal experimentation and transitioning to superior, animal-free research methods and encouraged support for PETA’s campaign to end all experiments on animals.

“The Government’s Replacing Animals in Science Strategy sets a clear direction for moving UK research away from experiments on animals,” says Ruth Jones MP.

“A year on, the priority must be delivery and driving forward the changes needed to implement superior, humane, non-animal methods in laboratories across the country.”

PETA Head of Science Policy Dr Julia Baines shared: “Millions of animals are subjected to painful and frightening experiments, and a year after the government published its strategy, ambition must now become action to end their suffering.

“PETA is calling for decisive steps to end all experiments on animals and accelerate the shift to state-of-the-art, human-relevant science.”

Rats are empathetic, family-oriented individuals who will put themselves in harm’s way to save someone else, male mice woo their mates with high-pitched love songs, and baby rats giggle when they’re tickled. Primates, cats and dogs are also used in UK experiments, despite the UK’s claim to be a nation of animal lovers.

Yet experimenters subject animals to painful and frightening procedures, including injecting mice with bacteria in an attempt to induce sepsis.

Despite widespread concern, Cardiff University is one such organisation that has faced repeated criticism for its animal experimentation, which campaigners have called ‘a cruel legacy the university will always carry’.

In 2024, the university carried out 22,712 procedures. This includes the natural breeding of genetically altered animals, where the birth of each animal counts as one procedure.

In just one example of their research, Cardiff University confirmed that some of its scientists had sewn up the eyes of kittens during research into a lazy eye condition in 2010, but rejected the accusation that it was cruel or unnecessary.

PETA’s Research Modernisation Deal provides a comprehensive framework for ending experiments on animals and can complement policymakers’ work to implement the UK strategy.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on” – points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and fear, a mouse is a dog is a boy.

For more information, visit PETA.org.uk or follow PETA on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.