WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2243/96 by Jessica LARIVE , Doeke EISMA to the Commission. Primates transported by Sabena and Air France for research purposes
Date: 1996-08-09
Institutions: EISMA, European Parliament, LARIVE
Subjects: air transport, animal experimentation, animal welfare, import, marketing, monkey, protection of animals, transport of animals, wildlife













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91996E2243

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2243/96 by Jessica LARIVE , Doeke EISMA to the Commission. Primates transported by Sabena and Air France for research purposes  


Official Journal C 011 , 13/01/1997 P. 0058 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-2243/96 by Jessica Larive (ELDR) and Doeke Eisma (ELDR) to the Commission (9 August 1996)Subject: Primates transported by Sabena and Air France for research purposesPrimates captured in the wild are still being transported under wretched conditions to laboratories in Europe by Sabena and Air France. 80% of the animals die before they reach their final destination.1. What action is the Commission planning to take to prohibit the transporting of these primates to Europe in order to tackle the root problem, i.e. the capturing of wild primates for research purposes?2. What proposals will the Commission make to improve the transport of animals in general?Joint answer to Written Questions E-2174/96 and E-2243/96 given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (13 September 1996)The importation of primates and their transport into the Community by airlines is a legal activity. There are current needs for primates, judged by the appropriate authorities to be essential, which cannot be met by the supply and use of animals already available in the Community.If the transport of these animals by air were banned, while their importation into the Community were still permitted, the result would be greatly increased suffering, as animals would be flown to third countries then imported into the Community by land or sea. This would result in much longer journeys for them and more suffering. Indeed, this is already happening, as many airlines have yielded to pressure and have stopped transporting primates.It is not possible to deal in a piecemeal way with the undoubted difficulties inherent in the use of primates as laboratory animals. The Commission is therefore developing a comprehensive strategy which would:a. require a much stronger justification for the use of primates in laboratories, as a way of reducing the numbers required,b. improve communication with regard to the availability of animals already in Member States, as a way of reducing the need to import them from outside,c. encourage, where possible, the provision of purpose-bred animals within the Community, to meet genuine needs.This strategy should be combined with a determination by all concerned to seek a progressive reduction in the need for primates to be used as laboratory animals, the ultimate goal being the elimination of any such need.These matters will be considered at a conference to be organised by the Commission in early 1997, at which the Community policy of 50% reduction in the use of animals for experimental and other scientific purposes by the year 2000 will be discussed.