BUAV statement on Government funding boost to non-animal research
BUAV Chief Executive Michelle Thew said:
'I applaud any increase in funding and commitment to the replacement
of animals in research. In line with the majority of the British
public, I want to live in a world where no-one wants or believes we
need to experiment on animals, and it is encouraging the Government is
responding to the clear moral and scientific imperative to move beyond
animal research.
However I have to say people will be disappointed at so little, so
late. Five million pounds is a drop in the ocean when you consider that's just 0.6 per cent of the funds the Government has said it will
pour into biotech and medical research by 2010-11.
If the Government is serious about being a proper 'world leader' in
this area they need to start demonstrating some consistency. This
announcement has come in the same week that Gordon Brown announced the
Government would be jointly backing a new £58m super-lab in London. No
mention of commitment was made to modern, humane research yet an
'animal house' will form part of the development.
Meanwhile, the Government's Chief Scientific Officer Professor David
King is writing a strategy to continue the use of thousands of primates in experiments; the numbers of animals used continues to rise
in official stats each year and the Home Office is attempting to
deregulate animal experiment licensing - an already tragically
ineffective regime, as was demonstrated earlier this year when a High
Court judge ruled its procedures misled the public in a Judicial
Review brought by the BUAV*. The Government needs to make real
systemic changes before it can start claiming it has any concern for
laboratory animals.'
NOTES
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has announced
an increase of funding to the National Centre for the Replacement,
Reduction and Refinement of Animals over the next three years to
2010-11.
http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=336810&NewsAreaID=2
The Government was found guilty of illegally licensing experiments
causing severe suffering to animals in a Judicial Review brought by
the BUAV in July.
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.
BUAV short statement on Government funding boost to non-animal research.
The UK Government Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
has announced an increase of funding to the National Centre for the
Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of Animals over the next three
years to 2010-11.
http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=336810&NewsAreaID=2