STOP VIVISECTION is a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) that has collected more than 1.150.000 certified signatures asking people to support a paradigm shift in the way biomedical and toxicological research are being conducted. This is the text of our request which advocates the replacement of animal testing with more accurate, reliable, human-relevant methods:

Considering clear ethical objections to animal experiments and solid scientific principles that invalidate the “animal model” for predicting human response, we urge the European Commission to abrogate directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes and to present a new proposal that does away with animal experimentation and instead makes compulsory the use - in biomedical and toxicological research - of data directly relevant for the human species.

Being an ECI (and not a simple petition), STOP VIVISECTION enters the political arena with an entirely new tool for participatory democracy. In fact, the european citizens have acquired, in 2011, the possibility to propose legislation on matters where the EU has competence to legislate. Seizing this opportunity, a group of scientists and lay citizens from everywhere in Europe have submitted an invitation to the European Commission urging the upgrading of the extremely important field of biomedical research, for the benefit of human health, the environment and animal welfare.