EU TO DRAW UP ACTION PLAN TO END PRIMATE EXPERIMENTS
An end to primate experimentation in the EU may become a reality!
And the use of Great Apes and wild caught primates in experiments may also be banned.
On 6th September 433 Members of European Parliament (MEPs) had signed Written Declaration (WD) 40/2007, and many Animals Count supporters contributed by writing to their MEP to encourage them to sign the WD. Thank you to all who helped! And please also thank your MEP who signed the WD! This is a major breakthrough for primates.
At least 393 signatures are necessary for a WD to be adopted. The Declaration,
adopted this week, 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.
Animal Defenders International (ADI) championed the WD and lobbied hard to get the minimum number of signatures. Animals Count and animal protections organisations across Europe helped achieve this success.
Animals Count applauds this encouraging development and hopes the EU will take serious action and fast-track the revision of Directive 86/609/EC to make the end to the use of primates in experiments happen sooner rather than later. The Directive should also address a number of other inherent problems surrounding the use of all animals in experiments. We will keep you up to date.
8 September, 2007 
PROPOSED BILL TO END PRIMATE EXPERIMENTS IN IRELAND
The Bill can be downloaded from the website of
the
Houses of Oireachtas.
This month, an MP in Ireland proposed the
'Restriction on Animal Testing Bill 2007' which seeks to prohibit the use of
non-human primates in scientific research and other experimental activity.
Ireland may be the first EU country to ban the use of primates in experiments.
Animal Defenders International and NAVS' press release welcoming this news was posted
on policits.co.uk. ADI mentioned the 2005 Berlin Declaration which calls
on governments to end the use of non-human primates in experiments. Animals Count founder,
Jasmijn de Boo, and Policy Advisor and veterinarian Andrew Knight also signed this Declaration
in August 2005.
About 70 organisations worldwide have signed the Declaration (including Dr Jane Goodall!)
and other UK charities that signed it include the RSPCA (who drafted the wording),
BUAV and Animal Aid.
The EU Directive 86/609/EEC on the 'Protection of animals used for experimental and
other scientific purposes' is currently being
revised.
Public
consultation on this revision demonstrates that 93% of European citizens (from all 25
Member States) answered positively to the question "Do you believe that more needs to be
done to improve the level of welfare/protection of animals used in experiments by action
at EU level?".
Animals Count believes that one of our aims 'to immediately end the use of non-human primates in experiments' might be feasible due to public opinion being in favour of a ban. Furthermore, 88 MEPs signed Written Declaration 64/2006 which calls for an end to all primate experiments. A follow-up Declaration is in the pipeline.
Watch this space!
20 March, 2007
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Sign the petition for an independent scientific
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