By Irmela Ruhdel and Ulrike Gross
T
he welfare of animals used for scientific purposes in the European Union (EU) is protected by a mutually agreed upon Directive, the latest of which was adopted in September 2010. Transposing the new Directive into individual Member State laws needs to be completed by the 27 EU Member States by November 2012 and be applied starting January 2013. During negotiations between the EU Commission, European Parliament, and Council of Ministers, the original EU Commission Directive proposal regrettably became considerably weakened, and the new Directive has not met the expectations of the animal protection community. However, we acknowledge
10  2011 PRIMATES & SCIENCE
PHOTO BY VEER
The Use of Primates in the EU
the overall improvement of the protection of laboratory animals within the EU, especially in EU Member States that previously had no or incomplete regulations. One special concern of animal welfare people is the use of nonhuman primates due to their closeness to humans, their highly developed social skills, and their ability to suffer, which is very similar to that of humans. European animal welfare organizations lobbied hard to implement a ban on their use but failed; however the use of primates has been restricted. The ‘recitals’ (similar to a preamble) to the Directive contain some strong statements of intent with regard to the use of primates. It is recognized that the use of primates raises specific ethical and practical issues in terms of meeting their behavioral, environmental, and social needs in a laboratory environment. The additional suffering caused by the capture of wild animals is also recognized, and strong public concern is acknowledged. It is stated that their use should be restricted to the study of potentially life threatening or debilitating conditions in humans.