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More than 12 million animals, 90% of which are mice, were killed in 2017. (Representative)
Strasbourg:
The European Parliament on Thursday called on the European Union to step up efforts to stop using animals for scientific research.
The non-binding resolution, approved by an overwhelming majority of lawmakers, has been welcomed by animal rights activists.
“MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) call for an EU-wide action plan with ambitious and achievable targets as well as deadlines for the phasing out of the use of animals in research and tests, “said a statement.
“They want sufficient medium and long term funding to be made available to ensure the rapid development, validation and introduction of alternative test methods.”
The EU has banned animal testing for cosmetics since 2009 and has regulations to try to protect animals still used for scientific research deemed necessary.
More than 12 million animals, 90% of which are mice, were bred and killed in 2017 for research purposes, many of which ultimately were not used in experiments, according to a report from the European Commission.
EU lawmakers said they “understood that there are cases where animal testing is still needed to obtain scientific information on certain diseases due to the current unavailability of non-animal methods.”
“They stress, however, that these testing regimes should only take place where conditions are optimized to minimize pain, distress and suffering,” the statement said.
Animal rights group Humane Society International called the resolution a “historic opportunity to take animal suffering out of the equation and focus on modern, cutting-edge research relevant to humans.”
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
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