BUAV response to LASA/APC Laboratory Animal Suffering report [Scanned]

October 1, 2008

BUAV response to LASA/APC Laboratory Animal Suffering report ( UK )

1 October 2008

BUAV Chief Executive Michelle Thew said: ‘The BUAV has long been calling for retrospective assessment and reporting of lab animal suffering so strongly welcomes the recommendations in today’s report from the LASA/APC working group as a step in the right direction. Where research is reported in journals, full information about animal suffering should be given, and retrospective reporting should improve the annual statistics issued by the Home Office.

However in order for these recommendations to have a meaningful impact on the suffering of animals in our laboratories we must have independent assessment, which also needs to take into account the suffering animals experience during their whole lifetimes as laboratory animals, not just during experiments. Suffering resulting from experiments must be realistically assessed, with the benefit of any doubt given to animals. The current mild, moderate and substantial bands are far too vague, with no more than 2% of licences categorised as substantial, despite the high number of very unpleasant experiments – this inevitably misleads the public.

As ever, the BUAV is willing to work with the Government to ensure that an effective system of retrospective reporting is put in place.’

Detail

Retrospective reporting will suffer from the same defects as current prospective assessment unless the following changes are made:

• the how: Suffering resulting from experiments must be realistically assessed, with the benefit of any doubt given to animals. The current mild, moderate and substantial bands are far too vague, with no more than 2% of licences categorised as substantial, despite the high number of very unpleasant experiments – this inevitably misleads the public

· the when: Animals have to be monitored properly, to detect whether they are experiencing symptoms. In relation to the BUAV’s recent undercover investigation into neuroscience research on marmosets at Cambridge University , the animals were left for large portions of a 24-hour period, which inevitably meant that episodes of intermittent pain and seizures etc could not be picked up

· the what: All types of suffering must be taken into account, not just that resulting from the experiment itself. Re Cambridge, Prof David Morton said in a report for the APC that the animals would have been experiencing ‘moderate’ suffering as a result of the unnatural confined conditions in which they were kept even before invasive experiments on their brains started – and yet the Home Office took

no account of this in making the key cost:benefit assessment when deciding whether to grant the licences

· the who: it is clearly in the interests of researchers to downplay suffering – prospective or retrospective – for PR reasons and to increase their chance of getting a licence/new licence. There has to be a proper system of inspection, properly resourced and truly independent of the animal research industry. Ultimately, only proper parliamentary scrutiny and

overall transparency can satisfy the public that suffering is being assessed properly. At present, the system is extremely secretive.

Ends

NOTES TO EDITOR

Copies of the LASA/APC report are available from the Science Media Centre www.sciencemediacentre.org

The BUAV has been campaigning for over 100 years to achieve a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals. We are committed to achieving our aims through reliable and reasoned evidence-based debate. We are proudly non-violent and respect the quality of life for all – animals and people.

For more information contact: Media Manager Mary-Louise Clews 020 7619 6978/Out of hours mobile: 07850 510 955 /mary-louise.clews

Mary-Louise Clews

Media Manager

BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection)

16a Crane Grove

London N7 8NN

Direct: +44(0) 20 7619 6978

Fax: +44(0) 20 7700 0252

Mob: +44(0) 7850 510955

Email: mary-louise.clews

Web: www.buav.org

Why not visit our new cruelty free website at www.gocrueltyfree.org

The BUAV Vision is: To create a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals

Half the battle to bring an end to animal suffering is funded by gifts in our supporters' wills. If the time is right for you to put a good cause in your will please remember ours.

The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) is a company limited by guarantee and registered in

England and

Wales as The Campaign to End All Animal Experiments (no. 04115167). Registered office address: 16a Crane Grove,

London N7 8NN. This e-mail [including any attachments] is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of the BUAV unless specifically stated. The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you have received this in error, please contact the sender [Tel: 020 7700 4888] and delete the material from any computer. Please note that the BUAV monitors e-mails sent or received. Further communication will signify your consent to this.

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~

** Commentary is not allowed on AR-News, however, we have a daily AR-NEWS LETTERS email that we send out. If you would like to submit a letter for consideration, fire it over to ARNewsLetters

** To yourself from this list, send email to AR-News- (AT) googl (DOT) com

** For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.comAR-News or http://www.AR-News.org

~+~+~+~+~+~+~ -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---