Brussels, 11/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 11 May, the Council of Ministers of the EU reached an agreement on a draft directive to protect animals used in science. This directive aims to strengthen animal protection, while allowing research to continue to play an essential role in the struggle against human disease. Germany was the only delegation to abstain.
Under the new provisions, member states will be obliged to ensure that: animal experiments are replaced, whenever it is possible, by a satisfactory scientific substitution method; the number of animals used in projects is reduced to a minimum without compromising the quality of results; the degree of pain and suffering caused to animals is limited to the minimum.
The use of non-human primates for scientific purposes will be subject to tight restrictions. Experiments with great apes such as chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans will be prohibited; member states may however allow exceptionally the use of great apes if it has justifiable reasons for believing that it is essential for the survival of the species itself or because of an unexpected outbreak of life-threatening or debilitating disease in human beings.
As a general rule, animals taken from the wild will not be allowed to be used in experiments, with some exceptions. Non-human primates may only be used if they are the offspring of animals which have been bred in captivity or if they are sourced from self-sustaining colonies.
Experiments using animals will require a prior evaluation and authorisation. Member states will also have to ensure that all breeders, suppliers and users are authorised and registered with the competent authority. The new directive, which will replace Directive 86/609 will cover vertebrate animals, including feeding larval forms and faecal forms of mammals as from the last third of their normal development, and cephalopods (for instance, squid).
Approval of the draft corrective is a step towards the ultimate goal of achieving the full replacement of experiments on live animals as soon as it is scientifically possible to do so. According to experts, current scientific knowledge does not allow a complete phase-out of animal experimentation. Around 12 million animals are used each year in scientific experiments in the EU.
The Council's decision complete and partial agreement reached by the agriculture and fisheries Council on 14-16 December 2009 and reflects a provisional agreement reached in an informal trialogue on 7 April 2010 with the European Parliament. The decision will be formally adopted as a forthcoming Council meeting, after finalisation of the text, and forwarded to the European Parliament for its second reading. (L.C./transl.fl)