ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS AND SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS

Early day motion 429, tabled 7 December 2006 by Phyllis Starkey (Labour). Signed by 56 members.

That this House recognises that there are difficult ethical issues in relation to the use of animals in scientific and medical research; believes research using animals should be well-regulated with full consideration given to benefits and harms; supports more efforts to apply the 3Rs (refinement, reduction and replacement) to improve animal welfare, minimise animal usage and adopt alternative methods where possible; calls for greater openness about animal experiments from the research community, which should itself be free from harassment and intimidation; wishes to see more systematic reviews to examine critically the scientific validity of animal research projects; calls on the Government to use its influence to seek international validation and acceptance of alternatives wherever possible; realises that such research has brought great benefits to human and veterinary health and well-being; and urges all involved to seek reasoned dialogue on this issue.

Signatures by party: Labour 29, Liberal Democrat 12, Conservative 8, DUP 6, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.