Secret transportation of monkeys for European laboratories revealed

Secret transportation of monkeys for European laboratories revealed
29.07.2022
World
Secret transportation of monkeys for European laboratories revealed
Animal testing

Information discovered by animal defence organisations has revealed the secret transportation of 240 long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) on 26 June 2022 from Vietnam to the Maastricht Airport in the Netherlands, destined for R. C. Hartelust BV, an animal dealer in Tilburg. They provide monkeys to laboratories throughout Europe. The Action for Primates (United Kingdom), Animal Rights (Netherlands), One Voice (France), and Stop Camarles (Spain) associations are campaigning to raise awareness of the cruelty and suffering linked to the trade and transportation of non-human primates for research purposes and toxicity testing.

Photo: Cruelty Free International – Long-tailed macaques in a breeding farm in Vietnam

According to our information, the macaques, costing 4000 dollars (3943 euros) each, were provided by the Thanh Cong company in the Lang Son province and were transported by Easy Charter, a small charter freight company based in Tbilisi. Imprisoned in small individual transport crates, the calvary of monkeys between Hanoi and Maastricht consisted of two international flights lasting thirteen hours, with a 2-hour stopover in Dubai.

Easy Charter’s role in transporting monkeys for laboratories was previously unknown. In June, Air France, the main transporter of monkeys from Mauritius and Vietnam into Europe, announced an end to their involvement in this trade, once its current contracts expired.

Each year, thousands of monkeys are transported around the world for laboratories

The worldwide trade of non-human primates for research purposes is a cruel and brutal activity responsible for the shipping of tens of thousands of animals around the world. Vietnam is a significant exporter of long-tailed macaques for laboratories and primate traders in Europe.

In 2020, the country stated that it had exported 5,378 macaques bred in captivity to Germany (265), Spain (1,186), France (860), and the United Kingdom (178), as well as to the United States (480), Japan (1,814), Singapore (41), and South Korea (41). Hartelust is one of the main commercial traders of primates in Europe. Others include Silabe (Simian Laboratory Europe), a company based in Niederhausbergen linked with the University of Strasbourg in France, and Camarney SL near Barcelona in Spain. Both of these import thousands of long-tailed macaques from Vietnam and Mauritius to sell in laboratories throughout Europe.

Long-tailed macaques, animals in danger

Because of concerns regarding the conservation status of this species, long-tailed macaques have recently been classified as endangered (formerly vulnerable) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

The new assessment of the conservation status of the macaque population, published by the IUCN on 21 July 2022, is based on the levels of exploitation of the species (including worldwide trade of long-tailed macaques for research and experimentation purposes) as well as on the destruction of their habitats which wipes out wild populations. It is estimated that these activities, if they are not reduced during the next three generations (between 36 and 39 years), will lead to a decline bigger or equal to half the size of the current population.

We are understandably very concerned about the impact of the capture of monkeys for breeding purposes on wild macaque populations. For a very long time, we have been equally worried about trafficking and challenge the legitimacy of monkey breeders’ claims (captured and subsequently bred in captivity) throughout the entirety of South-East Asia.

Invasive tests imposed on macaques

In 2019 (the most recent data available), 7,475 non-human primates were used for the first time in research in the EU, of which the majority (6,748) were long-tailed macaques; while this figure does not include non-human primates used or killed to obtain blood, tissue, or organs. The long-tailed macaque is the species of non-human primate that is most commercialised and most widely used by the global research industry and in toxicity testing (poisoning), including in Europe.

Toxicity testing is carried out to evaluate undesirable reactions to medications or chemical products, mainly with the aim of developing commercial products for humans. The monkeys are immobilised and medications are generally administered intravenously (into the bloodstream), subcutaneously (under the skin), or with a tube that is forced into their mouth to reach the stomach. Tests such as these involve immense suffering and can lead to vomiting, convulsions, weight loss, internal bleeding, organ failure, and even death.

Act with us!

1. If you are an EU citizen, you can write to your Member of the European Parliament (you can find the contact details of the French MEPs here) to report your concerns about the importation and use of non-human primates for research.
2. Sign the petition started by Animal Rights (choose « Andere » in the list of countries)
3. Write politely to Mark Rutte, the Dutch Prime Minister: https://www.government.nl/cont…
4. Write to Easy Charter to ask that the freight company stops transporting monkeys destined for research and testing: office@easycharter.ge

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Hundreds of thousands of animals used illegally by French laboratories

Hundreds of thousands of animals used illegally by French laboratories
27.07.2022
Europe
Hundreds of thousands of animals used illegally by French laboratories
Animal testing

The new report by the European Union on the figures on animal testing in 2019 has just come out. Like the previous, it reports on the use of experiments for which alternatives have existed for more than ten years. And as usual, France has a leading role in these illegal uses. We have contacted the Ministry of Research to ask for an explanation.

Public authorities and other organisations who champion animal testing tell us over and over again that this is only done when no alternative is available. It is in fact a legal obligation, despite article L. 214-3 of the Rural Code and the European Directive on the use of animals for scientific purposes.

So why do we still hear about pyrogenicity testing on rabbits, irritation and corrosion testing on the skin or eyes of rodents, or even the production of monoclonal antibodies thanks to the particularly harsh ascites method? In fact, alternatives have existed for years, approved by the European agency responsible for their validation (ECVAM).

Irritation and corrosion testing

The alternatives to irritation and corrosion testing on the skin and eyes were approved in 2000 and some were even the subject of a regulatory recommendation from ECVAM. However, tests on animals continue in the European Union – and in particular in France. In fact, from 2015 to 2019, more than a third of testing carried out in the EU was done in France.

Pyrogen tests

Pyrogen tests consist of injecting a substance into rabbits and measuring the onset of fever. The number of rabbits used for these tests in the European Union reduced by a third between 2015 and 2019. But France, always quick to ignore European law, swam against the current by doubling its use of rabbits for these tests in the same period. It has therefore won the award for the largest number of rabbits used for pyrogen tests in 2019, with 39% of uses in the European Union, way ahead of Spain (29%) and Germany (21%).

“Monocyte activation tests” in vitro (MAT) were nevertheless filed in 2002 with ECVAM, approved in 2006, and included in 2009 in the European pharmacopoeia as a viable alternative to the pyrogen test using rabbits.

The ‘ascites method’

But there is worse. The ‘ascites method’, a particularly cruel process for rodents and rabbits, is still topical in the European Union. To blame in 95% of cases: France.

In 1998, ECVAM were already talking about in vitro alternatives available, emphasising that “monoclonal antibody production using the ascites method is no longer scientifically necessary, except for in certain exceptional cases“. In 2020, they went even further, stating that “monoclonal production using the ascites method should no longer be acceptable, whatever the circumstances”.

Among the explanations given in the Ministry of Research’s statistical files, some are surreal. Just as, in 2019 and 2020, more than twenty thousand usages of animals were justified by the idea that “this antibody is requested in large quantities, the alternative methods cannot respond to this need”. You would think that industrial interests are more important than the law.

Where are the sanctions?

All in all, more than 300,000 animals have thus been used illegally in France between 2015 and 2020, while lobbies and ministries kept bragging to us about the regulations and the strict obligation to use existing alternatives. Faced with lies and stonewalling from the authorities responsible for implementing regulations, we can easily understand the public’s mistrust.

In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Research, we are asking for explanations of the reasons for these illegal uses, on the penalties expected for the responsible establishments, and on the measures implemented to ensure that no projects are accepted from now on that use animals while alternatives exist.

Sources

2015-2020 statistic files provided by the Ministry in charge of Research (see our presentation of these figures at https://experimentation-animale.com).
Statistical reports from the European Union (the last of which dates back to mid-July 2022, regarding the 2019 figures).

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

An urgent reform of ethical committees in animal testing is needed

An urgent reform of ethical committees in animal testing is needed
20.07.2022
Europe
An urgent reform of ethical committees in animal testing is needed
Animal testing

While we have been told for years that going through ethical committees is a guarantee of compliance with regulations, the Comité national de réflexion éthique sur l’expérimentation animale (CNREEA) [National Committee for Ethical Reflection on Animal Experimentation] has recently ruled that these committees do not have the means to function correctly. Its recommendations, which are interesting, do not go far enough. One Voice has written to CNREEA’s President to request a more ambitious reform.

On 8 April, the CNREEA submitted a notice regarding the conditions for approval for the comités d’éthique en expérimentation animale (CEEA) [Ethical Committees in Animal Experimentation]. This is great when we know that the 130 French CEEAs have not been in agreement since 2013 and that their operation does not allow compliance with the requirements for impartiality and transparency provided for by the regulations. We are almost surprised that the Ministry of Research still uses them today as an alibi to justify projects that involve electric shocks and forced swimming to be authorised.

Unfortunately, CNREEA’s notice remains timid on points as important as the make-up of the committees, the increase in participation of those who are not involved in animal testing, and committees’ independence regarding the establishments whose projects they assess. One Voice has therefore addressed an open letter to Pierre Mormède, CNREEA’s President, to call for a more ambitious reform of ethical committees.

Opinions on the CEEAs

CNREEA’s recommendations on ethical committees predominantly concern financial and logistical means: member training and ‘mission letters’ allow them to carry out evaluations of their working time, the increase in the number of members and regular participation in evaluations, but also material and logistical means necessary for basic operation.

Up to this point, the propositions seem to us to be completely reasonable and welcome, and it seems to be appropriate to thank the CNREEA for this. The major limit of its recommendations is rather what has not been addressed here, namely the make-up of the committees and the function of the evaluations themselves.

CEEA limits

Ethical Committees in Animal Experimentation (CEEA) clearly appear to be lacking when we compare them with their equivalent for research involving human beings: the Comités de protection des personnes (CPP) [Committees for People’s Protection].

CEEAs have a minimum composition of five people, of which four are directly involved in animal testing, while the fifth does not have to prove they have any expertise. CPPs are comprised of twenty-eight people, of which half represent patient and specialist associations such as sociology and law, but also ethics – a speciality which is completely absent from ‘ethics’ committees in animal experimentation.

Furthermore, a file that must go through a CPP is randomly submitted to one of the 38 CPPs in France, which guarantees a certain impartiality in the rulings implemented. On the other hand, a file that must go through a CEEA is submitted to the committee linked to the establishment that is presenting the project – which means that there are currently around 130 CEEAs in France, a number ten times higher than the European average, which is far from a guarantee of independence and harmony in the operation of committees.

The reform is urgent

If CNREEA’s notice is implemented as it stands, the ethical committees in animal experimentation will begin a change in operations involving significant investment. It would therefore then be difficult to move towards more ambitious reforms for several years.

Hence our request to envisage a reform inspired by the CPP model from now on. A request which is not alone, since it is also part of the programme from the Parti Animaliste [Animalist Party] and propositions from the Engagement Animaux 2022 campaign, which we participated in.

This will involve a bigger change but would at least make it possible to reach the objective set by European regulations and by the Animal Experimentation Ethics Charter: the impartiality and independence of ethics committees, moving towards better control in animal testing while waiting for it to be abolished.

To find out more: a brief history

While the CNREEA left no trace over the course of its first ten years of existence (2005-2014) outside of a national charter on the ‘ethics’ of animal experimentation, the arrival of the European Directive in 2013 seems to have motivated some work (listed on the Ministry of Research’s website). In particular, activity seems more sustained since 2019 with the appointment of new members, presided by Pierre Mormède: the 2020 summary mentions four meetings throughout the year (instead of two in the previous years), several notices issued in 2021, and other notices in progress. The next meeting will take place in 2024 – we will fight so that One Voice can have a place in this future committee.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

One month left to call for a Europe without animal testing

One month left to call for a Europe without animal testing
19.07.2022
Union Européenne
One month left to call for a Europe without animal testing
Animal testing

The Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) is not a simple petition: reaching one million signatures will compel the European Commission to look into the proposal and to provide a response to it. You have until 31 August to sign and get those you know to sign! Without you, without them, we will not make it.

Last year, One Voice and numerous committed associations, alliances, and brands joined forces to launch a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) against animal experimentation, specifically in relation to cosmetics. The cut-off date of 31 August 2022 is approaching and we are asking you again to sign and share (see the end of this article) this initiative as widely as possible.

A committed political act

A petition is generally not binding on its recipients. But an ECI is much more than a petition because if it receives more than one million signatures, the European Commission is obliged to look into the requests and to respond to them.

Signing the ECI is therefore truly a committed political act.

The requests of the SaveCrueltyFreeCosmetics ECI

You have three reasons to sign this ECI:

1. Guaranteeing and reinforcing a ban on animal testing for cosmetics

In fact, according to an analysis published in 2021, more than 60 exclusively cosmetic ingredients have been tested on animals in the European Union despite bans on these tests since 2009 and 2013. And that is without counting the thousands of ingredients with multiple uses. We informed you about our concerns on this dramatic setback…

2. Overhaul the EU regulations relating to chemical products

These regulations regularly force businesses to practice tests on animals, particularly when it comes to plastics and other petroleum products, but also metals, dyes, essential oils, and so on.

3. Establish a roadmap to leave animal testing behind

In September 2021, the European Parliament unanimously passed a motion to move away from animal testing.

Signing the ECI will allow us to keep pressure on the European Union for a truly ambitious policy to come into force!

We still need to find more than 300,000 signatures

Eleven countries, France being one, have reached the minimum threshold of signatures, which completes the first criterion necessary for the ECI to be successful. The second criterion is to reach one million signatures – without counting any duplicates. Our Members of the European Parliament are in agreement with us, they are in favour of an action plan to get away from animal testing. The European Commission is the only one left to catch on. We are counting on you to help us to reach this goal!

With already more than 100,000 signatures (almost 200% of the national threshold), France figures prominently among the signatories. But now is not the time to ease off, there is not a moment to lose: other countries have gone even further. Slovakia is at almost 250%, Finland and Germany at almost 300%, Bulgaria has passed 300%, and the Czech Republic is about to reach 600% of its signature threshold!

And there are still around 300,000 left to reach the minimum threshold… You can participate in change for animals used in laboratories!

To help in finding a way out of animal testing, you can sign the ECI (if you have not already done so) and encourage those close to you and your network to do the same and to share the link http://savecrueltyfree.eu

To motivate them, you can explain to those close to you that the signing process is very simple nowadays and can be done without an identity card. You can also remind them that, despite appearances, this is not just a simple petition, but a political process which could have a real and profound impact.

Message template to share on your other social networks: Facebook, Instagram, etc.:

One month left to reach the one million signatures needed for the #SaveCrueltyFreeCosmetics ECI! Without it, progress against #AnimalTesting is not possible. Sign, share, talk about it with everyone you know! http://www.savecrueltyfree.eu/ @onevoiceanimal #EndAnimalTesting

Translated from the French by Joely Justice