Photography by Abbie Green.
12.02.26
From today, you could be committing a crime if you were to protest against a facility linked to animal testing, or were to interfere with them at all.
You could be committing a crime if you were to block a university entrance to protest against their increase in student fees.
You could be committing a crime if you were to call out boycotts of suppliers to facilities that breed dogs for animal testing in the UK.
Your guess as to whether these are actually criminal acts is as good as mine. The wording of the Public Order Act 2023 amendments are so vague and broad that nothing has been clarified or ruled out. We will have to wait and see how this is policed.
In England and Wales, from today, facilities linked to animal testing are defined in law as ‘Key National Infrastructure’. They clearly keep the country running on a day to day basis and we’d be lost without them.
However, this is untrue.
Animal testing does not keep this country running.
The UK Government has added ‘Life Sciences infrastructure’ on to that list of protected facilities, whilst allegedly ‘phasing out animal testing’. Something cannot be ‘unnecessary’, yet ‘essential’ at the same time, they are simply not compatible words. After sitting in the House of Lords during the debate to approve this law change, I see clearly what the agenda is and how industry’s happiness is at the forefront of this.
Last week we were full of despair at the decision. Now, we are full of fire, determination and a renewed sense of fight to see the end of all animal testing.
Naturewatch Foundation has been campaigning and lobbying against animal testing for over 30 years, we’re certainly not stopping now. We will not be silenced.
Our campaigns and actions may or may not take a slightly different approach, but we are determined to keep the noise deafening, and truly show everyone the reality of the lives of millions of animals used in animal testing in the UK every single year.
Time and time again, animal testing has been shown to be ineffective, a hindrance to medical progression and a barbaric failure in society.
There is no protection for animals used in science in the UK, regardless of what the law says. They’re continuously let down and the non compliances released prove this. Mice drowning, pups starving to death after their Mother was removed and killed leaving them to a miserable end…it is disgraceful.
We don’t do this alone. Our supporters are at the core of our work and we urge everyone to continue with the same level of fight as you’ve always had. These animals deserve better, they should not be born just to die.
When we have any updates on this issue we will update you. For now, we have big plans for the rest of 2026, watch this space.
