The British government has announced a major plan to phase out the use of animals in medical research, beginning with the replacement of key safety tests by the end of this year. The programme aims to cut the use of dogs and non-human primates in medical research by at least 35% by 2030.

Science Minister Lord Vallance said the shift will rely on new technologies. “Can we get very close to eliminating animal testing? I think we can. Can we push faster than we have been? We absolutely should,” he told the British Broadcasting Corporation.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals welcomed the move as a: “significant step forward,” but some researchers urged caution. Prof Frances Balkwill of Queen Mary University in London said: “Non-animal methods will never replace the complexity of studying a tumour in a whole organism,” while Prof Robin Lovell-Badge of the Francis Crick Institute in London warned that some areas, such as brain and behavioural science, remain impossible to replicate in lab conditions.

The British government says it hopes to drive innovation without compromising scientific safety, setting the stage for a gradual transition toward a future where animal testing is used only when absolutely necessary.