Breaking news: Obama signs measure to dramatically reduce animal testing
The new language in the bill will almost certainly accelerate the movement away from animal tests for chemicals, pesticides, biocides, cosmetics, and other potentially dangerous substances in risk assessment protocols or for safety substantiation. Photo by iStockphoto
Today, it was my great honor to attend the presidential signing ceremony at the White House for a revision of TSCA, the Toxic Substances Control Act, with my colleague Sara Amundson from the Humane Society Legislative Fund. Today’s final action upgrades a 40-year-old federal law regulating the use of chemicals, and contains – for the first time in any broader environmental and health protection statute – an explicit decree from Congress to minimize animal testing and to create a clear preference for the development and use of alternative methods and strategies.
The section of the bill relating to animal testing, championed by Senators Cory Booker, D-NJ, and David Vitter, R-La. – and strongly supported by Senators Tom Udall, D-NM, Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and committee ranking member Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., was a hard-fought battle. The inclusion of this language will almost certainly accelerate the movement away from animal tests for chemicals, pesticides, biocides, cosmetics, and other potentially dangerous substances in risk assessment protocols or for safety substantiation. So many lawmakers who pushed the measure across the finish line also attended the ceremony and celebration this morning.
President Obama signs the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which is expected to dramatically reduce animal testing. Photo by Sara Amundson/HSLF
President Obama’s signing of the bill gives the Environmental Protection Agency an unmistakable mandate from Congress that it must continue to embrace 21st century science and transition away from outdated animal testing protocols, which are expensive, slow, and often non-predictive of the human circumstance. I wrote recently that the EPA is dramatically decreasing animal tests for pesticide hazard assessments, and is now working to replace animal tests in its endocrine screening program. In fact, in 2016, the EPA proposed to waive skin lethal dose tests for pesticide formulations.
To be sure, this is a global movement, and there is progress on many fronts. In 2013, the European Union banned cosmetic animal testing and trade, and India followed suit the next year. Recently, we announced that Australia will soon join that club. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a consensus body of 34 member nations, including the United States, has embraced the concept of using the best new techniques and approaches for safety assessment, and that will also accelerate the move away from animal testing on the international stage.
We are making gains in other domains where animal testing has long been a feature of risk assessment. In 2012, our Humane Society International team in Europe worked to reduce animal testing requirements, perhaps by as much as 50 percent, for risk assessment for pesticides and biocides. We’ve also succeeded in convincing Brazil, Canada, the EU, and India to delete a notorious one-year dog pesticide-poisoning study requirement (the United States deleted the requirement back in 2007).
In the past year HSI also worked with the EU to adopt animal replacement methods for skin/eye irritation, skin allergy, skin lethal dose testing, and a reduced animal use test for reproductive toxicity under its chemicals law – potentially sparing 2.6 million animals the effects of these painful tests, while the Indian health ministry banned repeat animal testing of new drug imports.
In all, there is evidence around the globe that a combination of moral intention to reduce and eliminate animal testing and implementation of new technologies that give us superior options are ushering in a new paradigm in the realm of safety testing and drug efficacy work. This is the humane economy in action, and the new law on chemical testing is an enormous advance for our cause. The long-established practice of poisoning animals for a variety of purposes is on the way out, and it will be replaced by human biology that will give us better results and not leave a trail of animal victims in our wake.
“For the first time…we’ll actually be able to regulate chemicals effectively.” —@POTUS on #ChemicalSafety Act: https://t.co/3YoAKwoq9G
— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) June 22, 2016
Thank you, President Obama! And thank you, Humane Society, for so tirelessly fighting for our animal friends! Wonderful news !!
Ditto!
I add:
Barbara Boxer and Cory Booker have shown themselves to be steadfast champions for animal rights. Those of us who are active in the animal welfare movement VOTE in part, based on the humane society’s rating for Senators. And we make public on our FB pages the voting records of Senators in regard to the welfare of animals. I wish to see a future where Senate and Presidential debates have questions about the candidates records and stance on animal rights.
I totally agree with this! As a Californian, I have always been extremely happy to see that both Boxer and Senator Feinstein have a strong history of voting in favor of animal welfare issues.
I am sad that Boxer is retiring, and my vote come November will go to the candidate who cares about animals.
Thank you for all of your hard work, persistence, and humanity in passing this humane legislation. Please remain vigilant in passing future legislation protecting all of the animals, both domesticated and wild who share this earth with us.
The BEST PRESIDENT EVER…. KUDOS OBAMA”
I second your statement, Tommy Lee!
Great move, Mr President. Your action today is humane and responsible.
Yes!
I wouldn’t go that far Tommy.
Probably the best thing he’s ever done as president and one of the only things he’s done. it’s about time for animals to be heard
I would as well go that far for me, to proudly say that, Obama is THE best president ever!
Amen Heidi, i agree with you totally !!
Good! ! ! ! Thanks Obama!! That’s awesome!! We don’t need animals to test things for us! Not fair to them!
Please free all animals
Thank you so much, Mr. President! This awesome news is much needed in the wake of so much bad lately!
This is great news!!
It’s about time, this has been going on for toooo long. I get so sick of everything taking so long, to make a change, to end the suffering of helpless animals that don’t have a clue why humans are doing these awful things to them. It needs to stop, completely, it sounds to me like their will still be some animal testing allowed. So upsetting to think of little bunnies, monkeys, dogs, mice, and rats etc. etc. being tortured, for testing. Thank you for going in the right direction on this.
I hope in 5he future we can END ALL Animal testing. .GOD BLESS and Thanku
I certainly understand the concern and the importance of humanity to animals in product testing, etc. I just don’t understand the other options. I’ve read all of this and it still isn’t clear….I keep reading about new technologies but no description of what they are or even a hint. And then I see this: “The long-established practice of poisoning animals for a variety of purposes is on the way out, and it will be replaced by human biology that will give us better results and not leave a trail of animal victims in our wake.” Just wondering….does this mean that certain human specimens will take the place of animals in testing? Just wondering if this was an oversight in explanation. And how will the test subjects be chosen? just curious.
Thank you Beverly for your trenchant comments. I had the exact same thoughts. I hope we won’t substitute prisoners or paid participants. We seem to have forgotten this story: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/01/16/world/europe/french-drug-trial-hospitalization.html
This is not a situation that was caused by the lack of animal testing on a drug. Drugs and other substances have been tested on volunteer and paid subjects via clinical trials for years. These clinical trials are required by the FDA before a drug can be considered for approval.
Drugs and other substances are already tested on human volunteers via clinical trials before a product is put on the market. You might find this article from the National Anti-Vivisection Society helpful. http://www.navs.org/promise-organ-chip-models/
Beverly, I was wondering the same thing. I love animals and this news is amazing. In the interim, human life is also precious. Americans as well as all nations.
At molecular and cellular tissue levels, in vitro, lab cultures, computer generation and extrapolation, human trial stage, etc. It was not referring to experimenting on people, and certainly not without their consent.
Thank you for your compassion towards animals Mr. President! And a big thank you to the Humane Society too for your tireless efforts in the fight for animal welfare!
So happy to see this, and it is gratifying to see that there were members of both parties on the team. I really hope we can end all animal testing in my lifetime.
I’m proud of the sponsors and the President for this progress in the fight for ending chemical testing on animals. It’s a start, but there are so many ways to abuse animals that aren’t covered by this law. We need to stop torturing animals in every way. Factory farming is a disgrace. Slamming baby pigs onto concrete floors and throwing them into dumpsters to finish dying is just one sick example. Emotionally torturing baby monkeys by separating them from their mothers and inflicting terror on them is unconscionable. Keeping laying hens in small cages all their lives, a practice which the Humane Society of the United States supports, is obscene. There are so many other ways that animals are abused, and this law touches only the tip of the iceberg. Why can’t we get Congressional support to make all animal cruelty a felony, punishable by mandatory prison sentences of a minimum of a year? If something would be illegal to do to a person, it should be illegal to do it to an animal. It’s not complicated.
Well said!
I totally agree Jacqueline. Animals Rights have come a long way. But not there yet. At least this is a step in the right direction.
Thank you so much, what a GREAT step for mankind
Thank you for all of your hard work, Thank you Mr. President, and thank you to the Humane Society.
Great News!!
Thank You President Obama!! This will be better for animals and humans alike.
Wonderful beginning towards animal rights for our unrepresented animal friends in the US. Now to do more work . .
Thank you, thank you, thank you for stepping up towards making the world a more humane place for ALL living beings.
Wonderful beginning for our unrepresented animals friends in this country. Now to do more good work . . .
Wonderful news! A huge heartfelt thank you to all of those that made this happen!
What about the 7.5 billion a year the NIH gives to colleges…to animal test..that’s $75 billion of your tax money every ten years . for test that can be done on a computer.. Its the fat pig college staff drinking from the trough to watch that same monkey smoke a ciggerette ir put spikes in a housecats heads and then tell student nurses to hush
It would be nice if the article told us what changes the bill would actually bring. Instead they chose to talk about political and thump HSUS’s chest
Wonderful news, thank you to all involved!
Thanks to the dynamic duo of Sara Amundson and Wayne Pacelle! Keep fighting!
It is so nice to see that the president was able to sign a bill that protects these animals that can’t defend themselves.
It’s great that Congress is addressing issues like this. It’s hard for them to get much passed, so this is very promising.
Thank you President Obama for caring about the animals!
If only China would please get on board and stop the attrocities of mandatory animal testing.