Strasbourg, 29 Nov 2002
Jill EVANS (Greens/EFA, UK) will be tabling an own-initiative draft resolution calling for improvements in the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes. It points out that the existing directive ( 86/609/EEC ) on this subject had not been satisfactorily implemented in all Member States and that differing standards still apply with regard to, say, the authorising, monitoring and review of experimental projects. The Environment Committee believes that a review of the directive is needed and in particular that its scope needs to be aligned to the Council of Europe Convention, which also covers animals used for education and training purposes. It, therefore, calls on the Commission to present a proposal to amend the directive before the end of 2003. Among its recommendations, the committee says that Member States should be obliged to set up an ethical review procedure as part of the authorisation system for approving animal experiments. Certain ethically unacceptable purposes for animal experiments should be banned, including: the development and testing of weapons including chemical agents on animals; the development and testing of cosmetics including cosmetics ingredients; and the use of wild-caught primates.
The draft resolution also says that licensing procedures should be made stricter. To obtain a licence to perform experiments on animals, the applicant must be able to prove that the experiments will be of benefit to animals or humans and that the desired outcome can only be achieved using live animals. Moreover, there is a need to set limits to the level of stress to which the animals may be subjected and ensure that experiments are not authorised if they exceed those limits. Finally, the draft resolution calls for a central EU inspectorate to be established, with the power to conduct spot checks and revoke licences, and for a central database for approved experiments on animals to be set up.
Jill EVANS (Greens/EFA, Wales)
Report on Directive 86/609 on the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes
(2001/2259(INI))
Doc.: A5-0387/2002 [may not be available yet]
Procedure: Own-initiative report
Debate: 04.12.200
European Parliament Briefing 2002-12-04