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The acceptance of equivalent data submissionsfor tests that have taken place in other OECDcountries.
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Part of the registration fee being used for thepromotion of alternatives
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Many of the specific test changes in the annexesdesigned to reduce animal use.There was also a partial exemption granted forcosmetics substances. The trialogue currentlyunderway between the Parliament, Council andCommission is discussing the amendments relatingto animal testing (along with many others) and it iscrucial that the fate of millions of animals do not getsacrificed in the jockeying for position. We arecalling on all sides to ensure this does not happenThe Parliament Second Reading Plenary Vote isnow scheduled for the week beginning the 11
th
December.
Nafovanny Undercover Investigation
The BUAV, a coalition member of the ECEAE, hasfound shocking evidence of the factory farming andwild-capture of monkeys for the internationalresearch industry. The investigation has reportedfrom inside the world’s largest breeding centre forprimates – Nafovanny in Vietnam. The companyboasts that it has capacity for over 30,000 primatesat its two main farms, and is looking to expandfurther.Nafovanny exports macaque monkeys for researchacross the world, and the UK Government for oneclaims that supply centres such as Nafovanny areclosely monitored and abide by internationalguidelines. However the report and video reveals acatalogue of broken standards and terribleconditions at Nafovanny, repeatedly in breach of the bare minimum standards for housing andhusbandry laid out by the InternationalPrimatological Society’s (IPS)
InternationalGuidelines for the Acquisition, Care and Breedingof Nonhuman Primates
.The findings of the investigation include:
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Newborn primates kept in small barren cagesthat fail to provide any sort of naturalsurroundings
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Decrepit cages with little attempt at enrichment
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Cages that are old with rusted or broken metalwork
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Infant monkeys weaned far earlier than the IPSguidelines recommend.
Primates packed in barren cages at Nafovanny.
It is not an exaggeration to describe Nafovanny aslittle more than a factory farm for primates,dedicated to producing as many monkeys aspossible as efficiently as possible – hardlysurprising, commented an independent primateexpert, given that the farm “is designed with thequantity of output given priority over individualcare and welfare”.The investigation also serves as a timely reminderof the continuing impact of captive breeding uponwild populations. Alarmingly, our independentexpert believed that the primates at a satellitesupply farm that keeps Nafovanny fully stockedappeared to be wild-caught – an impressionbolstered by the farm’s location near an area wheremacaques are indigenous, and the lack of a singlepregnant female in what is ostensibly a breedingfarm. We are therefore deeply concerned about theenforcement of policy restrictions on the use of wild caught primates.The ECEAE calls on Governments to both revokeNafovanny’s approval to import in countries whereit is given and ban the importation of primates fromany country where there is an indigenouspopulation – this latter to ensure that no primate isever taken from the wild in the name of research.Ultimately, however, we believe that the only wayto stop these intelligent and sensitive animalssuffering is to ban all experiments on primates. Thereport makes clear that farms such as Nafovanny
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