Animal Defenders International - Animal Experiments

Animal Experiments

Whilst the NAVS campaigns against animal experiments on a national level in the UK, the ADI supports this activity on an international level. Together, the campaign Save The Primates was launched in 2009, in an attempt to expose the global primate trade across three continents, including one of Europe’s largest testing facilities – Huntingdon Life Sciences in Cambridgeshire.

Their investigations revealed owl monkeys were taken from the rainforest for malaria experiments in Colombia; monkeys in rusting, collapsing cages at a Home Office-approved monkey supplier in Vietnam and, in the UK, primates in commercial testing were caught on film at Huntingdon Life Sciences in Cambridgeshire, a major contract testing operation for multi-national product brands which can hold up to 550 monkeys at a time. During the one-year ADI undercover investigation, 217 monkeys were killed in just five studies, which included struggling monkeys being strapped into chairs and forced to inhale products.

In September 2007, the European Parliament adopted a Declaration co-originated by ADI calling for bans on the use of wild-caught primates and great apes, along with a timetable for phasing out the use of all primates in experiments. 55% of MEPs signed the Declaration, making it the most supported on an animal protection matter ever.

In November 2008, the European Commission published its proposal for a new Directive on animal testing, replacing Directive 86/609/EEC. It included a requirement for prior authorisation for all animal experiments; the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, refinement) as a cornerstone of the legislation with particular emphasis on replacement; ethical reviews; a licensing system for suppliers, establishments and individuals using animals; an upper limit of pain; uniform implementation of Council of Europe standards of housing; the extension of the scope of the Directive to some invertebrate species and foetal animals, and other measures. However, there were also shortcomings. Notably, bans on the use of great apes and endangered species contained loopholes and exemptions.

The Directive will now go to the Council of Ministers, where every Member State will have its say on the Commission’s proposal and on the European Parliament’s amendments. The Directive can only be adopted if both the Council and the Parliament agree on the same text. The Commission would play an important conciliatory role if the two institutions were to disagree.