Science experts from animal protection organisations including Cruelty Free Europe have joined forces to argue for modern, non-animal testing methods to assess the potential dangers presented by endocrine disruptors.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals interfere with the body’s hormonal systems that regulate growth, development, reproduction, energy and body weight. This can negatively impact on human health and harm wildlife by causing problems such as cancer, brain dysfunction, birth defects and other reproduction problems. Public concern about endocrine disrupting chemicals has prompted the European Union to consider introducing new regulatory testing requirements which - the groups warn - will heavily rely on testing chemicals on animals.

In an article published in Chemical Watch, with contributions from our Senior Science Advisor Dr Emma Grange, the groups argue that the use of tests in animals to identify endocrine disruptors is poor science and ill-suited to regulatory action that will actually protect humans and the environment from their potential effects.  The current approach will take decades, because not only do the animal tests themselves take years, but also because the tests are often repeated because they are so unreliable. There have been hundreds of animal tests on Bisphenol A for example and in the meantime regulatory action has been slow. Instead they recommend greater access to existing information, better data analysis and investment in advanced humane and human-relevant testing methods. 

Cruelty Free Europe, PETA and HSI together say: “The future of chemical safety assessment in Europe could be bright. With the right investment, the EU could regulate endocrine disruptors effectively to provide the best protection of human health as well as of animals and the environment, as promised under the European Green Deal and draft chemicals strategy for sustainability.

To reliably evaluate chemical safety we need to develop and implement new modern and effective non-animal methods. If endocrine disrupting chemicals are tested on animals, not only will these tests mean an increase in the suffering of animals in European laboratories, they will fail to give us the information that is really needed to protect human health and the environment.”