For those who don’t count ...

In 2015, the European Commission wrote: "Animal testing should be phased out. This is the ultimate purpose of EU legislation ... ". Without numbers, which places the victims in a real black hole, how do they measure progress? This posture is untenable for One Voice and citizens who no longer want these procedures, nor the opacity that surrounds them.

Obligations not respected

According to Article 54 of the European Directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, as any Member State, France must publish each year figures on its progress towards the abandonment of animal testing. Problem is: the latest statistics from the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation dated from 2016! In recent years, the Ministry also recalled that because of transitional measures (until the end of 2017), any comparison with previous figures would be inappropriate until 2018. Well ok, we waited and are now in 2019, So, when? Updated, consolidated, legible and in line with the statistical formats of the European Union?

2018 should have been more than one year of fertile figures quantifying the real level of victims of animal testing in France and Europe. The European Union’s last report on the subject dates back to 2013 and is expected to be five years old. We think about the exact balance of the REACH Regulation, governing the use of chemicals in Europe. We also think about the use of animal testing that could explode because of this regulation through the testing of products for registration, required until May 2018.

Without transparency, we are lying

One Voice has been constantly asking for the truth and updated statistics on animal testing in France, by many means of appeal: letters to the ministry, the last dating from November 2018, but also, in the absence of response, appeal before Administrative Records Access Commission (CADA). This time, the cup is full and we will file a complaint to the European institutions for noncompliance with the directive 2010/63 and violation of its article 54.

Except to flout the rules or to modify the perimeters to dilute the reality, if our virtuous science has really taken the measure of legislation (that is to quantify the number of its victims) and the spirit of its letter (to reduce this number) Then, where are the numbers ?

We fear the worst ! The latest figures from the European Union, consolidated on 2011 data, say that about 11.5 million animals are killed per year in European laboratories. In France (2016 figures), there are more than 1.9 million animals. If in 2019 these numbers are not lower, citizens will know that it’s wishful thinking, ensuring that science is working to reduce this massacre is all but lies. It’s a joke. But should these figures be published !