New figures from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, published on Thursday 24 September 2026, show that the UK is using far fewer animals to release batches of veterinary vaccines than it did a decade ago. For Eco Current readers, that is more than a regulatory milestone: it is evidence that animal welfare and dependable disease prevention do not have to pull in opposite directions. The headline change is substantial. The average number of animals used to check the quality, safety and effectiveness of a single vaccine batch fell by **41%**, from 29 in 2013 to 17 in 2024.

Across the full system, animal use fell by **29%** over the same period, even though the number of vaccines being released increased. That is the kind of quiet improvement that matters in practice: better methods are doing more of the work, rather than lower demand simply disguising the figures. The share of veterinary vaccines released on the UK market that required any animal testing as part of quality control also dropped sharply, from **74%** in 2013 to **34%** in 2024. In plain terms, animal use is no longer the default for a large share of routine batch release.

One of the biggest steps came with the removal of the routine Target Animal Batch Safety Test in 2013. According to the VMD report, that decision cut animal use by thousands each year and marked a clear break from older testing rules that had remained in place through precedent as much as necessity. The effects now show up across species. Horses, cats, dogs, turkeys and pigeons are no longer needed for routine quality control testing, while newly authorised vaccines are increasingly moving through animal-free approaches from the outset.

This matters well beyond the testing bench. Veterinary vaccines help keep livestock healthy, protect pets and support biosecurity across farms and rural businesses. They also reduce the risk of some diseases spreading more widely, which gives this story a public health dimension as well as an animal welfare one. For farmers and vets, confidence in batch quality cannot be traded away. The useful part of this shift is that it has been achieved while maintaining access to safe and effective vaccines, showing that ethical science can also be practical science.

Defra minister Baroness Hayman described the figures as welcome progress for animal welfare, while stressing that farmers, vets and pet owners still need vaccines they can trust. Abi Seager, chief executive of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, linked the results to the UK's broader effort to replace animals in science wherever the evidence supports it. That point deserves emphasis. The strongest reforms in this space are not symbolic; they depend on methods that regulators and manufacturers can validate, repeat and scale. When those standards are met, fewer animals are used and vaccine assurance remains intact.

The report is also clear about what remains difficult. Some products, including certain clostridial and fish vaccines, still present scientific and technical barriers to animal-free quality control. Replacing those tests will take more than good intentions; it will require new methods that are accepted as equally reliable on safety, quality and effectiveness. Still, the direction is encouraging. The government's 2025 strategy for replacing animals in science set the long-term goal, and the latest VMD data shows measurable progress rather than rhetoric. If scientists, regulators and the animal health industry keep moving at this pace, the UK can cut animal use further while strengthening the resilience of farming, rural health and disease prevention.