The age of animal experiments is waning. Where will science go next?
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- NEWS FEATURE
- 25 February 2026
The age of animal experiments is waning. Where will science go next?
Advances in organ and computer models are raising the prospect that some animal experiments could be eliminated. But there are still huge hurdles to overcome.
Diana Kwon0
Diana Kwon
Diana Kwon is a freelance science journalist in Berlin.
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[Image: Overhead view of three white mice in a plastic bowl being weighed in a lab. A small syringe lies on a pink vial holder on the right.]
Governments have announced plans to reduce the number of animals, such as mice, used in experimental procedures. Credit: Philip Cheung for The Washington Post/Getty
Last November, the UK government announced a bold plan to phase out animal testing in some areas of research. Animal tests for skin irritation are scheduled for elimination this year, and some studies on dogs should be slashed by 2030. The long-term vision is “a world where the use of animals in science is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances”, the government policy reads.
Why simply ending animal testing isn’t the answer in biomedical research
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[Original source](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00563-3)