Draft Laboratory Animal Rules, 2026: Why They Face Objections and How Animal Experiments Are Regulated in India
The Union government has published the draft Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Control and Supervision of Experiment, Breeding and Trading of Laboratory Animals) Rules, 2026, notified as G.S.R. 864(E), for public comments. The comment window closes in early November 2026.
The draft comes from the Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA) under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. It would replace the 1968 rules and the Breeding of and Experiments on Animals (Control and Supervision) Rules, 1998.
PETA India (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has asked the Centre to withdraw the draft. A public appeal backing this demand has been signed by film personalities, public figures and scientists.
PETA India says the draft could weaken existing safeguards. Its concerns include possible use of wild animals protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (with "scientific justification"), and of free-ranging (street) dogs and cats, under certain exceptions.
Under the draft, mild and moderate experiments on all animals could be approved by an institution's own ethics committee, without prior CCSEA approval. Only severe and non-recovery experiments on animals other than rodents and rabbits (lagomorphs) would need CCSEA approval.
Critics also point to advance notice before inspections, use of animals for training and education, and weaker requirements on pain relief and aftercare.
Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA): How India Regulates Animal Experiments
The Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA) is the national body that controls how animals are used in scientific experiments in India. It registers every laboratory that keeps or tests on animals, makes rules for how experiments must be done, and inspects labs to check that animals are not made to suffer without need. It is a statutory body: it gets its power from a law, Section 15 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Until recently it was called CPCSEA (Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals).
The draft 2026 rules are CCSEA's proposed replacement for the 1968 and 1998 rules. The debate is about how much approval power should move from CCSEA to each lab's own ethics committee, and whether the new rules still meet the goals set in Section 17(2) of the Act, such as pain relief and not using animals merely to gain skills.
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960
The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (PCA Act) is India's main law that protects animals from unnecessary pain and suffering. It lists acts that count as cruelty, sets punishments, and created the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to advise the government. It covers almost all animals, and it also has separate chapters for animals used in experiments and in performances.
Objectors argue that some parts of the draft rules, such as using animals for vocational training and giving labs advance notice of inspections, do not fit the goals and inspection powers written into Chapter IV of this Act. Rules made under an Act cannot go against the Act itself.
Delegated Legislation
Delegated legislation means detailed rules made by a body other than Parliament, using power given to it by a law. Parliament passes the main law (the parent Act) and sets the policy, and the government or a body such as a committee fills in the details through rules and regulations. Such rules must stay within the limits of the parent Act.
The 2026 draft has been published for public comments because the PCA Act requires previous publication. PETA India's appeal is part of this consultation stage, and the final rules can be changed based on the objections received.
- Draft name: Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Control and Supervision of Experiment, Breeding and Trading of Laboratory Animals) Rules, 2026; G.S.R. 864(E)
- Issuing ministry: Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying; framed by CCSEA
- Would replace: the 1968 rules and the Breeding of and Experiments on Animals (Control and Supervision) Rules, 1998 (amended 2001, 2006)
- Draft approval split: mild and moderate experiments approved by the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee; severe and non-recovery experiments on animals other than rodents and lagomorphs need CCSEA approval
- Experiment categories in the draft: non-invasive, mild, moderate, severe
- PCA Act, 1960: Chapter IV (Sections 14–20) on experiments; Section 15 creates CCSEA; Section 20 fine up to ₹200
- 3Rs: Replacement, Reduction, Refinement (Russell and Burch, 1959)
- India banned cosmetic testing on animals in 2014 (Rule 148-C) and import of animal-tested cosmetics from 13 November 2014 (Rule 135-B)