European Parliament Intergroup discusses use of monkeys in brain research
Our Director of Science and Regulatory Affairs, Dr Katy Taylor, is speaking at an EU Parliament meeting in Strasbourg today about ending the use of monkeys in neuroscience tests. The event is part of the monthly Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals where MEPs meet to discuss animal welfare issues.
Over 6,000 monkeys are used in research and testing across Europe every year. Several hundred of these are used in cruel neuroscience experiments where they are restrained by their heads for hours at a time and forced to watch images on a computer screen. They undergo brain surgery to have implant devices in their skulls and are often deprived of food or water for long periods to encourage them to co-operate.
Our review into the use of monkeys for brain research published in 2016 found claims by researchers that these monkey experiments were essential to medical progress to be misleading. Our paper revealed that the availability and use of ethical studies involving humans were of more value.
Dr Katy Taylor says: “Our investigation raised important ethical and scientific issues while exposing the immense suffering of monkeys in this type of research. It is now time for the use of primates in neuroscience research to end across Europe and we call on those bodies responsible for funding and licensing these experiments to end their support.”
Five years after we uncovered the horror of life for monkeys at the Max Planck Institute, it is heart-breaking to know that monkeys continue to suffer in similar experiments in European laboratories. Please donate here, so that we can continue to push for a world free from cruel and unnecessary animal experiments.