With the November 5 deadline approaching for public feedback on the Centre’s proposed draft rules governing the use of animals in laboratories, animal welfare activist Ambika Shukla has raised serious concerns over the proposed changes, warning that they could weaken existing safeguards, compromise scientific research and expose animals to unnecessary suffering. In an interview with India TV, Shukla, an animal rights activist and animal welfare advocate associated with People for Animals, one of India’s largest non-profit animal welfare organisations, argued that the proposed framework could take the country several steps backwards in regulating animal experimentation. She questioned provisions concerning the sourcing of laboratory animals, approval of experiments, inspection of facilities and classification of pain during testing.
