SAVE PRIMATES_____________________

Brain damaged Marmoset at Cambridge University ©BUAV Similarities between human and non-human primates mean that scientists have been experimenting on them for years. But it is precisely these similarities that make their suffering so severe and their use as tools for research so unjustifiable.

Primates are intelligent and sociable animals with complex needs, and they suffer particularly in a laboratory setting. They are subjected to distressing and intense experiments, such as being infected with contagious diseases and having brain-damage deliberately inflicted on them. We would never consider subjecting humans to this kind of treatment against their will – so why do we allow it to our closest cousins?

Not only is their use morally wrong, but it’s scientifically flawed as well. For all their behavioural similarities, primates just aren’t similar enough to us to prove reliable models for human diseases. Alternative techniques already exist but, due to inertia amongst researchers and funders, lack the support they need. A real commitment to investing in these alternatives is vital so that they can show how superior they are to outdated and inhumane primate tests.

But there is hope. The EU has the power to bring in a permanent, legal ban on all primate experiments. They are currently reviewing Directive 86/609, which sets out the rules for animal experimentation across the whole of Europe. This review offers the best opportunity for years to stop primate experiments, forever.

Click here to take action to help save primates.

For more information on primate experiments, and on why the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments is calling for an immediate ban, click here


	THE FACTS:
	The most recent statistics from the European Union (EU) show that over 10,000 primates were experimented on in 2002, many of them more than once. These statistics also show that in 2002 France was the largest user of primates in the EU (3,840); the UK were second (3,173); and Germany were third (1,844). Many more are held in laboratories and supply companies, where they’re bred to make sure that the vivisection industry has a steady supply of research ‘subjects’. Most experiments on primates are not conducted for research into human diseases. 70 per cent of primate tests are poisoning studies to check the safety of substances for humans. Marmosets and macaques are the most commonly ‘used’ primates. Many primates are imported from countries such as Mauritius, China, Indonesia and the USA. In many of these countries, primates are stolen from their families in the wild in considerable numbers.