Celebrities and scientists protest against Centre's new draft animal cruelty rules

Prominent celebrities, politicians, scientists, and animal welfare organisations across the country have expressed strong opposition to the draft 'Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Control and Supervision of Experiment, Breeding and Trading of Laboratory Animals) Rules, 2026' proposed by the Central Government. According to a report by The Hindu, more than 18,000 people have signed a petition initiated by PETA India, demanding the withdrawal of these new rules.

These proposed rules are intended to replace the 'Breeding of and Experiments on Animals (Control and Supervision) Rules, 1998'. According to the government, these draft rules will expedite approvals for pharmaceutical, medical, and academic research through institutional self-regulation and reduce bureaucratic delays. The government believes that while modernising scientific research, these draft rules will actively strengthen animal welfare and ethical responsibility. The government has invited objections and suggestions regarding this, with a deadline of 5 November.

However, PETA India has expressed serious concerns against these rules. According to PETA India, if these rules are implemented in their current form, existing protective measures for animals used in laboratory experiments could be weakened. The organisation claimed that these provisions could increase the capture and use of protected wildlife for experiments. Furthermore, under certain circumstances, stray dogs and cats could also be permitted for use in laboratories.

PETA India has also expressed concern regarding the continuation of experiments that cause animals unbearable pain and distress, such as administering unbearable electric shocks, inducing tumours, and toxic tests where death is the ultimate outcome. The organisation further alleged that the draft rules would reduce the oversight currently conducted by the 'Central Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals' (CCSEA) on various experiments and could lead to relaxations in existing protective rules related to anaesthesia, euthanasia, and rehabilitation.

Many well-known faces have joined this protest. According to a statement from PETA India, artists such as actor John Abraham, Tabu, Hema Malini, Raveena Tandon, Shilpa Shetty, Jacqueline Fernandez, Dia Mirza, Rupali Ganguly, and Vamika Gabbi have signed this petition. Cricketer KL Rahul is also supporting this appeal. In the political sphere, Members of Parliament from various parties, including Lok Sabha MP Hema Malini, Rajya Sabha MP Sulata Dev, Lok Sabha MP Dr. Mohammed Javed, and former Union Minister Renuka Chowdhury, have backed the appeal.

This appeal has also received support from more than 100 Indian and international scientists, more than 100 veterinarians, and more than 60 animal protection organisations. Dr. Nupur Jain, Science and Research Policy Advisor at PETA India, stated, "India has already shown significant leadership in advancing animal-free science, which is a matter of pride for every Indian. We should move forward with this progress, not backward." She suggested that the proposed rules should be withdrawn and replaced with rules that strengthen animal protection and promote animal-free and human-relevant research methods.

PETA India noted that India has already taken several steps to replace animal testing, including the ban on animal testing for cosmetics in 2014 and the recognition of scientifically advanced methods through the 'New Drugs and Clinical Trials (Amendment) Rules, 2023'. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has also supported 109 research projects involving animal-free testing methods, including organ-on-a-chip technology, three-dimensional tissue models, and computer-based approaches, across 71 institutions and laboratories. According to PETA India, regulatory and scientific organisations in the USA, UK, and European Union are also accelerating the process of adopting animal-free testing methods. The organisation has requested the public to submit objections and suggestions to withdraw these rules by 5 November, 2026.