Animal protection proposal

2008/11/06 Lakar Iraizoz, Oihane - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Medikuntza

The European Commission has proposed a standard to further protect animals used for experimentation. The European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers must approve the proposal to make it law and replace the existing rule.

With this proposal it is intended that animals be used in experiments only when it is essential. To do this, they call on ethics committees to evaluate projects that intend to use animals before granting authorization for progress. In addition, it is intended to ensure the proper conservation of animals in laboratories.

Special mention in the case of primates. They demand that primates can only be used when the survival of a particular species of primate is endangered or an outbreak of serious human disease occurs.

It's one more step for animal welfare groups, but it doesn't seem enough. The prohibition of using primates, for example, is perceived by many as symbolic, since since 2002 no experiments with primates have been carried out in the European Union.