by Amanda Head
While PETA has fought for actions like these for decades, they’ve yet to comment on the animal-friendly moves.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced steps this week to speed up efforts to replace animal testing with so-called "New Approach Methods" for chemical and pesticide safety checks, a historic move that would appear praiseworthy by groups such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), but the animal rights organization has so far been silent.
Another prominent animal rights group, however, praised the move.
Justin Goodman, senior vice president for White Coat Waste, told Just The News exclusively that one of the top priorities for his group was to get the Trump administration to reinstate the president's EPA’s landmark plan to eliminate animal testing and retire lab survivors that the Biden EPA quietly scrapped – a move his group exposed – while legacy animal rights groups gave them a pass.
"We're thrilled that under [EPA] Administrator Lee Zeldin's leadership, the agency is now moving full speed ahead to cut wasteful and cruel animal testing and send survivors to loving homes," he said after the EPA's announced changes Tuesday.
The move keeps pace with the agency's goal of completely terminating all mammalian animal testing by 2035 and is a continuation of plans launched during President Donald Trump’s first term that the Biden administration had put on hold.
Among the updates: The EPA added 13 new NAMs for testing – including human cell models for eye irritation, 3D human tissue tests for light sensitivity and validated lab-based methods for skin allergies – to its official list for TSCA and FIFRA reviews.
The agency also created an easier way for scientists and companies to suggest fresh alternatives. Just last year, such methods saved roughly 1,600 mice and rats during phthalate testing, and the agency started its first lab animal adoption program back in April 2025.
100 years of animal testing
Animal testing in the U.S. gained prominence in the 20th Century for drug safety. The 1937 Elixir Sulfanilamide disaster, which killed over 100 people due to untested toxic solvent, prompted the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, mandating animal safety testing for drugs.
The Animal Welfare Act of 1966 (amended multiple times) first regulated the treatment, sale, and handling of certain animals in research, covering dogs, cats, and primates but excluding rats and mice (the majority used.)
Opposition of animal testing dates back a century as well, with groups such as the ASPCA and American Anti-Vivisection Society. The “Three Rs” (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) concept from 1959 influenced later policies.
By the late 20th Century, millions of animals, primarily rodents, were used annually for biomedical, toxicity and product testing, though regulations and alternatives grew.
Animal-loving in the Trump administration
During Trump's first administration, the EPA set a 2019 goal to reduce mammalian testing by 30% by 2025 and eliminate it by 2035, a date to which the administration has again committed.
The FDA announced in April 2025 a plan to phase out mandatory animal testing for monoclonal antibodies and other drugs, promoting human-relevant methods like organoids, organ-on-chip, and AI models under the FDA Modernization Act 2.0.
The National Institutes of Health has also prioritized human-based technologies, reduced animal use in funded research, and cut roughly $28 million in animal testing grants.
EPA officials say human cell and computer-based NAMs are quicker, more human-relevant, cheaper, and often more accurate than animal studies, ultimately helping regulators work smarter while protecting public health and sparking innovation.
White Coat Waste is also working on two appropriations amendments, on dog and cat testing, with Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., which passed through the House Rules committee on Tuesday night.
Amanda Head
Source: https://justthenews.com/government/peta-praise-epa-spares-animals-another-series-new-testing-methods
No comments:
Post a Comment