The End of Animal Testing Is Near

New techniques for testing the toxicity of chemicals and drugs could end the poisoning of animals in the name of protecting humans.

Three federal agencies announced a plan, labeled "ambitious" by USA Today, to use cultured human cells and computer analysis as a substitute for injecting chemicals into animals to see whether and how they are harmed. The Humane Society is championing the move, which all acknowledge could take as long as 10 years to fully implement.

The technique also holds the promise of speeding up the process of testing chemicals, while decreasing the cost – both of which could conceivably help the Environmental Protection Agency remove toxic substances from the marketplace. The EPA has a notoriously long backlog of substances awaiting analysis, as thousands of new chemicals are introduced each year.

The immediate effect of the measure, though, will be on the estimated 10 million mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, monkeys and other animals poisoned each year to test not only industrial chemicals and medical drugs, but also makeup and personal care products.

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