Meeting the Challenge
Summary
1 No law specifically calls for primates to be used in
research or testing in the EU, and the animal welfare
consequences of using primates in experiments are
unacceptable.
2 In some cases non-animal replacement techniques have
already helped to reduce primate use, but there is a long
way to go to continue developing and supporting their
potential. This requires progressive leadership and a topdown
strategic approach from national governments and
the European Union.
3 It should be possible to end other types of primate
research – such as basic, exploratory research – without
needing to seek off-the-shelf replacements. Just because
primates are currently used in an area of research, that
does not mean that they have to be. In many cases
primate research is duplicating earlier results in humans.
4 Many of the barriers to eradicating primate use are not
scientific but cultural, economic and political. These must
be strongly challenged and a sea-change in attitude
encouraged.
5 The European Union must rise to the challenge of ending
primate experimentation within the current revision of
Directive 86/609/EC on the Protection of Animals used for
Experimental and other Scientific Purposes1
.
The challenge
We present the arguments in this report as rebuttals
to the most common claims of those who oppose an
end to primate research: