To be honest we are using less and less animals in research and most of the ones we do use can be reused.
Yes animals are not exactly like humans which is why shoving stuff in rabbits eyes makes F all sense since the data collected is virtually useless due to the massive difference in our eyes and the rabbits.
We discussed the ethics of animal testing some years ago at uni and were asked to come up with alternatives:
Using computers to simulate the human body. Not as affective as you'd think but it is currently being used as an alternative to animals
Reducing and reusing the animals where possible - already being done
Using death row inmates (limits research to areas with the death penalty). Breach of human rights? To have done something worthy of a death penalty should they even have rights anymore?
Using people in a permanent vegetative state but you'd have the same problem as with the animals - they can't tell you what they feel but the data collected would at least be accurate. They wouldn't be able to consent and there is a grey area of whether they are aware of what is going on around them
The animals don't have the best lives in the world but unless people become available for testing or computer simulation improves I can't see an alternative