US environment agency urged to rethink animal testing phase-out

Scientific societies urge reversal on grounds of pledge to restore scientific integrity at agency

A group representing learned societies in the biological sciences has asked the Environmental Protection Agency, which is responsible for the regulation of chemicals in the United States, to abandon a 2019 pledge to phase out toxicology testing on mammals at the agency.

The EPA uses animal testing to gauge the safety of products that can make their way into the environment, such as pesticides, cleaning products or pharmaceuticals. In 2019, Andrew Wheeler, the agency’s administrator at the time, said it would “move away from animal testing”. He committed to reducing EPA requests and funding for tests on mammals by 30 per cent by 2025, ahead of a complete phase-out by 2035.