WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1947/97 by Cristiana MUSCARDINI to the Commission. Torture inflicted on mares to produce the Premarin drug
Date: 1997-06-04
Institutions: European Parliament, MUSCARDINI
Subjects: Canada, United States, animal experimentation, equidae, import restriction, international trade, medicinal product, protection of animals

C 21/124

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

22. 1. 98

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission

(30 June 1997)

The operational programme for Sicily is suffering from serious delays in implementation with a gap of around
10% (latest figures) between projected and incurred expenditure for measures part-financed by the European
Regional Development Fund, and when the Monitoring Committee for the Community Support Framework met
in Rome on 22 May 1997 it was held to be be among the programmes at risk. In particular the tourism investment
measures to which the Honourable Member refers (2.1 Aid for tourism and 2.3 Rural tourism) have so far shown
no expenditure and the national authorities do not expect the first payments before the end of 1998 or beginning
of 1999.

Tto avoid the risk of losing resources the Commission is in process of assessing with the national authorities, as
part of a wider reprogramming of assistance affected by implementation problems, the possibilities of adjusting
the programme in line with the state of and outlook for realisation of its various measures. Adjustment would not
at this stage involve any reduction in total Community aid to Sicily and the resources would be retained in the
same field of action (Subprogramme 2 Tourism and cultural assets).

(98/C 21/238)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1947/97

by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Commission

(4 June 1997)

Subject: Torture inflicted on mares to produce the Premarin drug

The (cid:145)Impronte(cid:146) review, which is printed and distributed by the LAV (Italian Anti-Vivisection League) has for
some  time  denounced  the  fact  that  75  000  mares  are  tortured  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  to  enable  the
American Wieth-ayerst laboratories to prepare substances used to produce the Premarin drug.

The torture inflicted on the mares consists in depriving them of adequate water supplies (i.e. giving them only
22 litres of water a day instead of the 50 they need), so as to obtain a much more concentrated urine. The method
used to collect their urine also causes them pain and severe injuries.

Will the Commission therefore ensure that imports of this drug are banned in Europe so as to discourage such
cruel practices?

Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission

(8 July 1997)

Will the Honourable Member please refer to the answer given by the Commission to written questions E-1784/96
and 1785/96 from Mrs Van Dijk (1).

Generally speaking the international trade rules do not allow the Community to ban the import of products from
non-member countries on the grounds that those products are obtained in those countries under conditions which
would be considered unacceptable within the Community, especially since those products do not constitute any
hazards to the lives and health of persons and animals within the Community.

(1)  OJ C 11, 13.1.1997.

(98/C 21/239)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1949/97

by Sebastiano Musumeci (NI) to the Commission

(4 June 1997)

Subject: Ban on Sicily Region(cid:146)s aid to tourist operators

The Commission has prohibited the Sicily Regional Council from subsidizing tourist transport to the island by
charter, rail, boat and coach operators because it considers that the measures in question constitute a form of aid