‘Will take India backwards’: Surat Parvatam urges Centre to reconsider proposed rules on animal testing
Dr Surat Parvatam of Humane World for Animals has raised concerns that the Draft Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Control and Supervision of Experiment, Breeding and Trading of Laboratory Animals) Rules, 2026, could expose stray animals to experimentation. The Centre notified the draft rules in October to replace the 1968 and 1998 rules, seeking public suggestions until November 5. Animal rights organisations and activists alleged that the proposed framework would expose animals to greater suffering and weaken safeguards, while the government argued the rules would speed up scientific research. Dr Surat Parvatam stated that allowing procurement from open markets or unregistered breeders would create a knowledge gap regarding medical backgrounds and challenge biosafety. She warned, "These are not just ethical concerns but scientific concerns as well. The scientific credibility of the research is extremely important." She further noted that a previous mandate requiring researchers to use non-animal methods first and justify animal testing has been removed, conflicting with the promotion of human-based testing methods under the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2023. Readers can submit their suggestions to the Centre regarding the draft rules before the deadline.
