Yesterday (September 10), the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it will stop conducting or funding studies that involve testing on mammals by 2035. EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler says in a news release that the agency aims to reduce the money that goes to such experiments by 30 percent by 2025 and eliminate testing on mammals altogether by 2035. After that, any research using mammals requested or funded by the EPA will need administrator approval.
The move drew mixed reactions. Some praised it as a step forward for animal rights. “Animal testing is often cruel and painful, with limited applicability to human health outcomes. Non-animal research is more accurate, more cost effective, and more humane,” Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) says in the EPA’s news release.
Others say the announcement was premature and could potentially expose humans to harmful chemicals. Ending experiments on mammals “is going to allow potentially dangerous chemicals to ...
