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EU Parliament moves to end primate testing

European MPs of all parties are supporting a new Declaration calling for an end to the use of Great Apes and wild-caught primates in research.

Written Declaration 40/2007 has received unprecedented cross-party support within the European Union. A new report published by Animal Defenders International (ADI) has reminded MP's that:

• Most primates share over 90% of their DNA with humans, and that they are intelligent, use tools, have language and feel similar emotions to ourselves.
• They are, are closest relatives on the tree of life and deserve special consideration.
• The very existence of the primate nations is under threat from the worldwide laboratory animal trade, as well as bushmeat, pets and entertainment industries.
• The members of the European Parliament are in a unique position – at a stroke, they can make an important compassionate and conservationist stand.
• This is also an opportunity to accelerate development of the latest human research techniques to replace misleading animal test data.
• With over 100 signatures already, Written Declaration 40/2007 urges the Commission, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament to use the revision process of animal experiments Directive 86/609/EC as an opportunity to:
     (a) Make ending the use of apes and wild-caught monkeys in scientific experiments an urgent priority;
     (b) Establish a timetable for replacing the use of all primates in scientific experiments with alternatives.

This proposal appears to be gaining support from politicians, the scientific community and conservationists alike.

Politicians that have declared support such as UK MEP John Bowis, said: “I have signed this Declaration because I believe, as many scientists, parliamentarians and members of the public, experiments on primates are both unethical and inefficient and can and should be replaced with more advanced scientific techniques.”

Slovenian MEP Mojca Drcar Murko said: “I support Written Declaration 40 because advanced alternatives to primate experiments in medical research already exist and because it is high time to convey our compassion to our species-cousins".

Portuguese MEP Paulo Casaca also urged parliamentarians to sign: “As an MEP I want the European Union to show the world the way forward for the animals. With the revision of Directive 86/609 on the use of animals in experiments, the EU can make an historical progress by gradually banning primates in laboratories and replacing them by safer and more reliable alternatives. This is a step forward not only for the animals, but also for the competitiveness of our high-tech industry, for science, and for the humans.”

UK MEP Dr Caroline Lucas said in support: “The EU is currently reviewing its rules of laboratory animals, and we must use this opportunity to immediately ban the use of primates in experiments anywhere in the EU, in favour of more modern and effective alternatives like computer modelling, tissue or cell cultures and micro-dosing.”

Swedish MEP Jens Holm commented: “It is about time to end experiments on primates. Primates are sentient beings and are fully capable of having feelings like humans: joy, happiness or anger. Their interest must be fully taken into account and cruelty against them must stop.”

UK MEP Sharon Bowles concurred: “It is unsurprising that 90% of the compassionate British public would like to see more funding allocated to non-animal alternatives for testing. Many alternatives do exist, but their use and further development requires investment and a commitment to innovation.

Some of the scientists that have backed the ban such as Dr Michael D Coleman, Senior Lecturer in Toxicology and Doctor of Science at Aston University, said: “As well as the ethical considerations, scientifically, primates are simply not close enough to us to act as good experimental models and we should be promoting replacement of animal work with human cellular systems. We must leave behind the intellectual laziness of relying on animal models and invest in human-cellular based alternatives for the future.”

Zvezdana Kojic, MD PhD, Assistant Professor of Physiology at the School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, said “I would like to signify my support for an end to the use of primates in research.”

Jan Creamer, ADI chief executive said today: “We are delighted that so many MEP’s are answering the call to protect the primate nations. These are our relatives. They suffer similar emotions to ourselves and therefore their suffering when captured from the wild, imprisoned in holding cages, taken from their families, shipped across the world and used in experiments in European laboratories is indefensible.

“It is time for humanity to recognise that other primates are nations, too. They have families, express emotions, and communicate in highly sophisticated ways."

To read ‘The Primate Nations’ Report click on: http://www.ad-international.org/mmap/go.php?id=634&ssi=64

 

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