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‘Self approval, self policing’: PETA India’s Anjana Aggarwal tears into govt’s draft rules on animal testing

‘Self approval, self policing’: PETA India’s Anjana Aggarwal tears into govt’s draft rules on animal testing

The Centre’s draft Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Control and Supervision of Experiment, Breeding and Trading of Laboratory Animals) Rules, 2026, released in , has drawn criticism from PETA India. Dr Anjana Aggarwal, Scientist and Research Policy Advisor at PETA India, said the draft could weaken independent oversight and allow protected wildlife and community animals to be used in laboratories. She warned that “if these draft rules are notified, institutions will monitor themselves” and that the process could become a rubber‑stamp. The rules would replace the 1968 and 1998 rules and the Centre is accepting suggestions until . Dr Aggarwal noted the absence of an openly available database on animal experiments, citing the CCSEA’s lack of public records. She urged India to adopt alternative methods such as organ‑on‑chips, organoids, computational and AI models, and to align with the European Union’s 2026 non‑animal testing framework.

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India TV News

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