**GROUND BREAKING** Government allocates €124.5 million for animal-free research

The funding was reserved in 2023, but it was officially allocated last Friday after approval of the revised proposal. This is groundbreaking news: with this money, a brand-new national center will be established, fully dedicated to accelerating the transition to animal-free research models. And such a center is much needed: in 2022, over half a million animals were still used in research.

Support

Leading the application was Wouter Dhert from Utrecht University, but he didn’t do it alone: other scientists, health funds, and companies contributed. And of course, Proefdiervrij also played a role.

The broad collaboration underlying the allocation of this amount makes Debby Weijers – director of Proefdiervrij – particularly enthusiastic: “This shows that more and more people share our vision. So, we are not only celebrating an incredibly generous amount that will be fully spent on animal-free research, but also that 63 partners in animal-free innovation are willing to invest. This demonstrates the level of support.”

A national center

The CPBT will be a national center focusing on accelerating research into biomedical innovations without the use of animals. Researchers will develop new animal-free methods and technologies to test the safety and efficacy of medicines and food products.

Debby Weijers will herself join the societal advisory board of the CPBT, which will also include representatives from science, government, and the pharmaceutical industry.

An interim result – not a final result

And that’s promising. However, it’s important to keep the allocated amount in perspective. Debby Weijers: “The amount will be spread over ten years, while in 2022 alone, for example, €7.8 billion was spent on research and innovation. This doesn’t mean that €124.5 million for animal-free research is just a drop in the ocean. With this amount, we can really make progress towards an animal-free world, but it’s important to remember that much more money is still needed. What we are celebrating today is an interim result, not a final result.”

Money is not enough

Moreover, more than just substantial amounts are needed for animal-free science. For example, we have long known that animals do not represent us well in research, yet choosing animal experiments remains a stubborn habit. According to Debby Weijers, education plays a key role. “If students learn to work with animal-free research methods during their education, they will also dare to rely on them later.”

And legislation often still obstructs animal-free science. As long as European laws require animal experiments and permits are granted for them, animal-free science is not yet possible. It’s therefore particularly great that regulatory authorities are also involved in the CPBT.

Moving forward together

But today, the focus is on the fact that the government has allocated an unprecedented amount for a center fully dedicated to animal-free science. This gives us hope that in the coming years, they will also help us create the other conditions needed to get all animals out of the lab.

After this fantastic news, now is the time to move forward. And with the European elections approaching, we will do this by calling on parliamentary candidates to sign a manifesto for animal welfare.