EU Parliament vote on animal experiments law (May, 2009)

On May 5th the European Parliament took a vote on proposed amendments to the EU’s 20-year old animal experiments law, Directive 86/609. When the European Commission first published its draft revision in November 2008, it launched hopes for the dawning of a genuinely progressive and future thinking science agenda. Although not perfect, it combined compassionate and responsible curbs on what animals should endure in laboratories, with the foundation for greater transparency, fairer regulation and support for cutting edge non-animal research.

It is deeply regrettable that so many MEPs failed to sustain the Commission’s original vision and subsequent strengthening amendments. Sustained lobbying by the animal research industry has been intense, at times deeply disingenuous and certainly alarmist.

The result has been that many MEPs rejected the very amendments that could make the revised legislation a law for Europe to be proud of and for the rest of the world to admire.

It is particularly disappointing that Parliament failed to demand greater protection for our closest genetic cousins, non-human primates, despite unequivocal consensus by global primate experts on their remarkable sentiency. MEPs voted to continue to allow scientists the freedom to use
primates in experiments with no direct application to improving human health, and reneged on their 2007 Written Declaration commitment to vote for a phase-out of primate use over time.

However there have been some positive gains at this stage which we hope to see strengthened further in the next round of negotiations. MEPs supported implementing a review of primate experiments every two years, a feasibility study regarding the phase-out of ‘F1 primates’ (off-spring of wild-caught parents), setting an upper limit on levels of pain animals can endure and increasing EU efforts on developing non-animal alternatives.

The Make Animal Testing History campaign is a leading force in the effort to update Directive 86/609. Launched jointly by the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research, Four Paws and Humane Society International, the campaign includes a call for EU citizens to join a Europe-wide virtual march to Brussels.

The proposals will be voted on by the Council of Ministers later in the year, before being sent back to the EU Parliament again in a process expected to stretch into 2010.

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