Stop the suffering of horseshoe crabs
- Press release
Stop the suffering of horseshoe crabs
Horseshoe crabs are among the oldest animal species in the world. Yet every year, hundreds of thousands are caught from the sea to have their blue blood drawn — for medical tests for which animal-free methods have existed for decades. To bring an end to the use of horseshoe crab blood, the nationwide association Doctors Against Animal Experiments (DAAE), together with its partner organizations from the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE), handed over 33,849 signatures in Amsterdam today. The demand: the blood-based test must be removed from the European Pharmacopoeia.
It is estimated that around 550,000 horseshoe crabs are caught annually off the east coast of the USA and brought to laboratories, where about a third of their blue blood is taken without anesthesia. Approximately 150,000 animals die as a result of this procedure. The survivors are returned to the sea, but little is known about long-term effects and further fatalities.
The Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) test uses horseshoe crab blood to detect so-called pyrogens in injectable drugs, infusion solutions, and vaccines. These are substances that can cause fever in humans and must therefore be excluded. Until recently, the rabbit pyrogen test was the standard for this purpose. In that test, the substance is injected into a vein in the rabbit’s ear, and any resulting rise in body temperature is measured. In Germany alone, around 6,000 rabbits were used annually, most of which were subsequently killed. In July 2025, this test was finally removed from the European Pharmacopoeia.
DAAE and ECEAE aim to have the LAL test removed from the regulations as well, since animal-free methods have long been available for both animal-based procedures: the Monocyte Activation Test (MAT), based on human blood, and the recombinant Factor C (rFC) test, which synthetically reproduces blood components of horseshoe crabs. The rFC test has been available for around 25 years, recognized in the European Pharmacopoeia since 2016, and delivers more precise results than the LAL test, which relies on animal suffering. Yet the LAL test continues to be used as long as its use remains permitted.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Amsterdam, responsible for drug approval, also influences safety testing regulations in the European Pharmacopoeia. The ECEAE delegation met with EMA representatives during the signature handover to discuss potential next steps.
“It is completely incomprehensible why a test associated with so much animal suffering is still allowed when there are already recognized, animal-free, and even superior methods available,” says Dr. Tamara Zietek, Managing Director for Science at DAAE and Chair of ECEAE, who led the delegation of animal welfare advocates in Amsterdam. “It took 15 years from the recognition of the animal-free method to the removal of the rabbit test. Action must now be taken to end the use of horseshoe crab blood once and for all. Encouragingly, our demands were well received by the EMA, which is already addressing the issue.”
EMA delegation (left) receives the signatures from the ECEAE delegation.
The ECEAE delegation just before the meeting: Dr. Dilyana Filipva, Susan Hartland, and Dr. Tamara Zietek.
Photos free to use. Source: ECEAE