Target: Shabana Mahmood, Home Secretary of the United Kingdom
Goal: Adopt a binding 10-year plan phasing out animal experiments while overhauling licensing and funding human-relevant alternatives.
Britain prides itself on compassion and world-class science, yet official figures show 2.64 million procedures on animals in 2024 with only a 1.21% annual drop. That pace feels glacial for sentient lives. Modern, human-specific methods already exist, from organ-on-chip systems and 3D human tissues, to AI-enabled simulations that mirror patient biology far better than rodent models.
Scrutiny around licensing remains weak. Between January 2021 and January 2025, only one license application was denied while more than 3.8 million animals were licensed for use since early 2025. Experts have long warned that many rodent sepsis and trauma models poorly predict human outcomes, which helps explain why drug after drug fails when moved from mice into people.
A clear timeline would shift investment, sharpen oversight, and speed adoption of proven non-animal science. A defined phase-out aligned with proposals like Herbie’s Law, tougher licence tests that demand human relevance, and targeted funding for replacement technologies would protect animals and improve research. Urge decisive action now.
PETITION LETTER:
Home Secretary Mahmood,
We urge your office to set a binding 10-year timetable that phases out animal experiments while aligning policy with modern, human-relevant science. Official statistics list 2.64 million procedures in 2024 with only a 1.21% decline, which signals stalled progress despite better tools on the bench.
Licensing safeguards appear too lax. From January 2021 to January 2025 only one application was refused while millions of animals were licensed since early 2025. That pattern undermines public confidence and leaves humane, patient-relevant methods underused. Organ-on-chip platforms, advanced human tissue models, and AI-assisted simulations already deliver data that better translates to the clinic.
Please champion a concrete plan: adopt a decade-long phase-out, overhaul license criteria to require strong human relevance and genuine replacement attempts, expand funding for non-animal methods, and publish annual milestones that show measurable reductions. Britain can lead again by pairing compassion with scientific rigor.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Gustavo Fring
