Revision of Directive 86/609

More than 115 million animals a year are used in laboratories around the world[1], with around 12 million animals used annually in the European Union alone[2].

Council Directive 86/609/EEC on the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes, is the European legislation that regulates animal experiments. It is more than 20 years old and urgently in need of updating in order to better protect animals in laboratories and to achieve the ultimate replacement of animals with more advanced, humane alternatives. A revised law has now been proposed.

Surveys and opinion polls clearly show that the public demands better protection for animals, with 79% of EU citizens believing there is insufficient public funding at European level for the development and validation of alternative methods to replace animal experiments[3]. The new EU law must reflect this high level of public concern and apply the requirement of the Amsterdam Protocol which obliges the EU to pay full regard to the welfare of animals in its research policy.

To benefit people and animals, replacing unsatisfactory animal experiments with more relevant and reliable non-animal methods must be the ultimate goal. Revision of Directive 86/609 provides Europe with an opportunity to lead the world in the development of non-animal methods. To achieve that the EU needs a targeted and properly funded strategy that places replacement at the heart of the new legislation.

Click here to read our response to the proposals.

1. Taylor K., Gordon N., Langley G., Higgins W. (2008) Estimates for Worldwide Laboratory Animal Use in 2005. Alternatives to Laboratory Animals (ATLA), 36(3):327-342 – A PDF of the paper is available on request.

2. Fifth Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the Statistics on the number of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes in the member states of the European Union COM/2007/675 final.

3. European Commission 2006 survey



In 2008 the European Commission published a proposal to update Directive 86/609/EEC. It contains some positive measures that, if retained, will lead to significant improvements. However, in other areas the current proposal lacks sufficient ambition.

Our organisations – Four Paws and Humane Society International – are working towards an end to all animal experiments. However, for as long as they continue, it is essential that they are controlled to the strictest standards and that there is a pro-active strategy for their replacement.

Through targeted, constructive and detailed policy work we are aiming to strengthen three main areas in the proposal:

• improved protection for animals in laboratories
• transparency, accountability and enforcement
• the replacement of animal experiments with non-animal techniques

Click here to read our detailed response to the proposal.



Advanced non-animal techniques are now the cutting edge of medical research. Animal experiments are being replaced by a range of alternative methods that frequently prove cheaper, quicker, more sensitive, and more adaptable and effective; they are already saving lives.

Independent scientific reports increasingly show that many animal ‘models’ used to study human illnesses are unreliable. Examples include multiple sclerosis, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and cancers of the lung, brain and bowel.

It is the same for safety testing: most animal tests have not undergone formal validation but continue as scientific convention despite well-established and serious deficiencies.

To better protect the health of EU citizens, the quality of research and testing must be improved. Advanced, non-animal techniques overcome many of the limitations of outdated animal experiments. An impressive range of methods can be used to replace animals such as cell and tissue cultures, 3-D models of human disease, molecular studies, gene-identifying tools, computer modelling, advanced imaging technologies, post-mortem studies, epidemiology (population studies) and ethical clinical research with volunteer patients and healthy subjects.

Many techniques are available now but more are urgently needed. A targeted EU-wide strategy involving substantial investment in replacement technology development in all current areas of animal use, must be a key part of the revised Directive 86/609.

Click here for our detailed briefing on Non-animal replacements.

In 2008 the European Commission published a proposal...

Advanced non-animal techniques are now the cutting edge of medical research...