This week, Members of the European Parliament voted to update the 20-year old EU law on animal experiments (Directive 86/609). The European Commission published a set of progressive proposals, but sustained lobbying by the big pharmaceutical and other animal research industries had a major impact on MEPs. While many individual MEPs tried to protect animals, the Parliament as a whole failed.
The Parliament voted against restricting scientists' freedom to experiment on monkeys, even for experiments with no direct application to improving human health, and against a phasing-out of primates. However, despite these failures, campaigning groups are still hopeful. MEPs did vote to set an upper limit on the levels of pain that animals can endure, to extend the scope of the law to regulate all animal experiments, and to establish EU and national centres for developing non-animal alternatives.
The Dr Hadwen Trust issued a statement today saying that the campaign is not over. The proposed new law will now be discussed by the Council of Ministers, where representatives of EU Member State governments will decide which measures they want the legislation to contain. Campaigning groups will continue to lobby for improvements to prevent suffering and accelerate the replacement of all animal experiments. The Dr Hadwen Trust's Make Animal Testing History campaign will now be taking its message to the Council of Ministers and trying to achieve a better deal for animals and humane science.
The Make Animal Testing History campaign has been supported by Advocates for Animals, AgireOra, Animal Aid, Association of Friends of Animals Greece, Danish Society for the Protection of Laboratory Animals, Doctors Against Animal Experiments (Germany), Eurogroup for Animals, Finnish Society for the Protection of Animals, Fundación Altarriba, Juliana von Wendt Fund (Finland), Uncaged, VERO, Verein gegen Tierfabriken (Austria), many local groups, individuals, and many thousands of people across Europe who have joined the virtual march, emailed their MEPs, etc.
Read the joint statement of the Dr Hadwen Trust, the Humane Society International and Four Paws in English in full online at www.makeanimaltestinghistory.org/resources/news/Plenary vote JOINT May 09.pdf
Join over 20,000 people on the Make Animal Testing History virtual march NOW at www.makeanimaltestinghistory.org/the-march.php?lang=gb