Picture copyright: Md Hasnat Shahriar Shanto
Yesterday evening, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the European Commission to establish an EU-wide Action Plan for the active phase-out of the use of animals in experiments. MEPs specify that the plan should include milestones and targets to incentivise progress towards the reduction and replacement of animals with non-animal and human-based methods. The votes were clear: 667 in favour, 4 against and 16 abstentions.
The Parliament stressed that the Action Plan should not be the responsibility of a few but instead should be spearheaded by a high-level inter-service taskforce, involving all key Commission Directorates-General and EU Agencies, with the aim of working with Member States and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that changes happen across all sectors.
The need for preferential funding and training for non-animal methods across all EU research and innovation initiatives has also been recognised.
Nearly 10 million animals are used in invasive experiments in EU laboratories every year, including monkeys, dogs, cats, rabbits, mice and rats, a huge number of animals that has remained relatively unchanged in the last decade.
Whilst acknowledging existing EU initiatives, MEPs recognised that an active, coordinated approach for reduction and ultimately full replacement of animals has not been achieved.
By requiring an EU-wide action plan with an ambitious timeline, European parliamentarians want to see the phase-out of the use of animals in science driven and accelerated.
Eurogroup for Animals, Cruelty Free Europe which One Voice is the French representative, Humane Society International/Europe, the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments which One Voice is also taking part to, and PETA, representing over 100 organisations across Europe, have campaigned for the adoption of the resolution (One Voice wrote to every French MEP) and are now calling on the Commission to make it a priority.
Opinion polls show that ending animal experiments is a priority for EU citizens: nearly three quarters (72%) agree that the European Commission should set binding targets and deadlines to phase out testing on animals. This is echoed by the recently launched European Citizens’ Initiative European Citizens' Initiative (europa.eu), which has already collected almost 120,000 signatures in less than three weeks.
Over one hundred members of the scientific community, as well as the European Consensus Platform on Alternatives, support the position, believing that an action plan can facilitate the transition to non-animal science through the definition of common priorities, allocation of funding and multidisciplinary and inter-service collaborations.