Petition to end testing on dogs and other animals reaches 100,000+ signatures

A petition to the UK Government, titled ‘End testing on dogs and other animals for development of products for human use’ has received over 100,000 signatures and is now awaiting a debate date.

The petition states: “We think government-led action is required to radically divert funding and evolve policy to implement the use of existing and the development of new Non-Animal Methodologies (NAMS). We believe the current testing paradigm is failing both animals and humans and is holding back medical advances.”

The strong response of more than 100,000 signatures added to this petition signifies significant public opposition to the use of animals in testing across the UK.

However, the Government’s response to the petition, given on the 13th of November 2025, states: “The use of animals for development of products for human use remains necessary. The Government therefore does not agree to end testing on dogs and other animals for testing and research purposes.” 

The Government also refers to the ‘Replacing Animals in Science’ strategy in its response, which sets out a roadmap for phasing out animal testing in the UK. However, as Animal Concern has noted before, this strategy does not do nearly enough to protect animals. 

Additionally, animal testing is an unreliable process, with repeated tests often producing different results and effects on animals don’t always reliably predict effects on humans. The petition itself cites “unimaginable suffering”, poor translation into effective treatments and cures for humans, and the production of data which is irrelevant to humans, as some of the risks associated with animal testing.

Animal Concern urges supporters to sign and share the petition, which is still open. Let’s show how the Government how many people in the UK want to see an end to testing on animals.