The Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office has finally agreed to end live animal testing in veterinary colleges and industrial complexes.

After PETA sent urgent letters to the Pakistan Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training and other institutions, Salman Sufi, head of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Strategic Reforms Unit, agreed to initiate discussions with the group on reforms for animal testing. Last week, Sufi announced the unprecedented measures saying,

“Live testing of animals in vet colleges and industrial complexes is banned from today in Islamabad Capital Territory.”

The government has now officially banned testing and surgeries on live animals at veterinary schools and industrial complexes in the federal capital. They also announced a Rs15,000 ($73) fine and jail term for convicted animal cruelty offenders.

Sufi announced amendments for the creation of the country’s first comprehensive animal welfare law as well. The amendments will be introduced in the National Assembly for debate and approval during the next session. PETA has said they will share recommendations with him in an upcoming scheduled meeting.

“Pakistan’s landmark reforms will ban tests and surgeries on live animals for veterinary education and shift to sophisticated, humane methods,” says PETA Vice President Shalin Gala. “PETA is delighted to have shared recommendations for improving veterinary training with Salman Sufi, and we look forward to our upcoming meeting with him to discuss further critical reforms in biomedical research and training that will both spare animals’ lives and benefit patients.”

The huge move from Pakistan follows outrage over videos posted to social media of veterinary students operating on live and suffering dogs that they reportedly stole from the streets. PETA has sent letters to the three universities involved in the abuse and offered them help to adopt realistic simulation models for basic skills training instead.

Numerous companies are standing up against animal testing, and recently the USDA decided to eliminate some mammalian testing by 2025. The majority of animal testing is used in medicine and for other human products and treatments. According to PETA, the National Institutes of Health wastes $12 billion annually on animal testing that leads nowhere, these experiments on animals fail 90 percent of the time! The research used on animals rarely correlates when it is tested on humans, making it a waste of money and unnecessary. Monkeys, mice, rats, and dogs are all used in animal experiments around the nation. It’s time countries ban animal experimentation altogether as it hurts humans as well.

Read more about animal testing in One Green Planet, including why it makes no sense. Celebrities like James Cromwell and Paul McCartney have spoken out against animal testing.

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