Canada is taking steps to ban the testing of toxic chemicals on animals including, dogs, mice, pigs, fish and rabbits.
to see if it causes harm before using them on humans. The ban could see this process axed in Canada.
An animal rights advocate says such tests expose animals to much higher levels of chemicals than humans would be exposed to.
"We're so pleased that Canada has finally committed to phasing this out and eventually banning it altogether," Kaitlyn Mitchell, director of legal advocacy for Animal Justice Canada, told CTV's Your Morning on Wednesday.
Mitchell says more than 40 countries have banned some forms of testing on animals, and says Canada is "playing catch up." Bill S-5, the Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act, including the banning of toxicity testing on animals,
The bill is a roadmap to eliminate toxicity testing on animals in Canada as this practice is phased out.
"That brings us in line with places like the U.S. and the EU, which have already created these strong legal tools to end toxicity testing on animals," she said.
One change requires the minister of health and the minister of the environment to incorporate non-animal testing methods.
"These non-animal methods are often more cost-effective, they're quicker and they're actually more predictive of human health outcomes and environmental outcomes," Mitchell said.
Some alternatives to animal testing are computer modelling, cell and tissue tests, or "organ on a chip" technology. Some of this work is being done at the University of Windsor, Mitchell said.
"It's a really exciting time here in Canada for animal use and science," she said.
To watch the full interview click the video at the top of this article.
