PETA India Urges Central Regulatory Body to Introduce a Database of Non-Animal Experimentation Methods Via New Proposed Rules

On 10 May, PETA India submitted life-saving recommendations to the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) – a statutory body constituted under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, seeking reforms to the proposed CPCSEA Administration Rules, 2022. PETA India’s recommended amendments regarding the core functions of CPCSEA include maintaining a publicly available and up-to-date database of non-animal methods which can be used to replace experimentation on animals, including for teaching and training. PETA India pointed out that a comprehensive and regularly updated database of non-animal test methods would empower CPCSEA to reject proposals using animals.

Although the Indian government doesn’t publicly disclose the annual number of animals used in experiments approved by CPCSEA, more than a million scientific procedures were estimated to have been conducted in 2015, representing a more than 20% increase over the 10 years prior.

In the proposed reforms, PETA India also urges CPCSEA to maintain detailed records of the number and species of animals bred for and used in experiments. PETA India suggests that the committee comprehensively analyse proposals calling for the use of animals so as to reject any for which the benefits do not outweigh the harm caused. Furthermore, when experiments using animals are approved, PETA India urges CPCSEA to conduct critical reviews of the outcomes to assess whether the use of animals actually led to any measurable advances in human health.

PETA India has also shared its Research Modernisation Deal with CPCSEA, which details the failure of experiments on animals in leading to treatments and cures for humans and provides a comprehensive strategy for modernising research through effective, non-animal methods.