A GWENT MP has called on the Welsh Government to end animal testing. 

On Tuesday, November 5, Ruth Jones, Labour MP for Newport West and Islwyn, joined more than 30 other MPs at a special reception hosted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) at the Palace of Westminster to show support for – and pressure the government to develop – a plan to phase out animal experimentation.

Titled 'A Roadmap for Non-Animal Science in the UK', the reception showcased PETA’s Research Modernisation Deal, a report created by PETA scientists that provides policymakers with a detailed strategy for ending experiments on animals and accelerating the uptake and further development of non-animal methods.

The event was sponsored by Bob Blackman CBE MP and attended by more than 30 other MPs, including John McDonnell MP and Adrian Ramsay MP, as well as Battlestar Galactica and Law & Order: UK star and long-time PETA friend Jamie Bamber.

Ms Jones said: “Ending all experiments on animals is crucial for our ethical standards and scientific integrity. By uniting behind a comprehensive strategy that promotes humane, innovative non-animal methods, we can put an end to outdated practices and foster a future where both animals and science thrive.

PETA Science Policy Advisor Dr Kimberley Jayne added: “Every year, millions of mice, rats, fish, dogs, monkeys, rabbits, and other animals are caged, subjected to physical and psychological torment, and killed in unreliable experiments that do little to advance human health.

“PETA is calling on the government to commit to ending all experiments on animals. It must stop wasting money and lives on archaic animal experimentation and switch to modern research methods that actually help people.”

In 2023, more than 2.68 million animals were bled, poisoned, deprived of food, isolated, mutilated, or otherwise subjected to psychological suffering and physical pain in British laboratories, according to PETA. 

Millions more were bred and discarded as 'surplus' because, for example, they were not of the desired sex or lacked certain disease characteristics.

The government has committed to working towards phasing out animal testing, and PETA urges everyone to hold it to this promise by demanding a government-led roadmap for ending all experiments on animals.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information about PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.