In the news
6 Sep 2008
9 June 2008
Dr Jane Goodall presents our 150,000 signature petition
Following the launch of our initiative to achieve greater focus on the replacement of animal experiments in Europe, the Dr Hadwen Trust was delighted to welcome renowned primatologist and UN Messenger of Peace, Dr Jane Goodall DBE, to the European Parliament to present our petition.
With the support of animal protection groups across thirteen Member States, we collected over 150,000 signatures and clearly demonstrated that EU citizens are united in their support for non-animal research.
Our petition comes at a time when Europe has committed to review its ‘animal experiments’ law – Directive 86/609/EEC. The legislation is more than twenty years old and in urgent need of updating. The Dr Hadwen Trust wants to use the revision as an opportunity to focus Europe on the ultimate goal of replacing animal use with more advanced and reliable alternative methods.
A great deal of progress has been made in replacing animals in regulatory safety testing. However, most animals in European laboratories are used in non-regulatory experiments such as medical research or education and training. The potential to develop more reliable and ethical techniques to replace animals in these areas has been much neglected.
Together with the Humane Society International, the Dr Hadwen Trust hosted an expert briefing at the European Parliament in Brussels, to take our message direct to MEPs. Dr Goodall presented our petition to Michael Cashman MEP, Vice Chair of the EU Petitions Committee, who was impressed with the number collected and enthusiastically accepted them. He proudly declared that although animal experiments were conducted in the EU, they were done so “not in my name”.
Click here to find out more about our event and our call for an EU Strategy to replace animal experiments as part of the revision of Directive 86/609.
Listen to Dr Goodall and Dr Gill Langley interviewed in Brussels for BBC World Service’s Analysis programme.
