EU proposes great ape research ban

The European Commission unveiled a linkurl:draft protocol;http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/lab_animals/pdf/com_2008_543.pdf on animal welfare today (Nov. 5) that proposes to ban testing on great apes including gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans. The pan-European initiative would extend a ban already in force in Austria, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Sweden across the entire 27-member bloc. The ban, however, would not greatly affect current research, because no testing has been carried out on linkurl:great apes;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/24468/ in the EU for the past six years. Although research on other primates such as monkeys would not be affected under the proposed legislation, scientists are concerned that lawmakers in the European Parliament may call for amendments to further limit primate testing. "We are facing a strong push to restrict in any way possible the use of monkeys in research at a time when it is most needed and when there is no alternative," Simon Festing, director of the linkurl:Research Defence...