Ban on Ape Testing Proposed in EU

Their is a proposal to ban testing on apes in the EU. Is this a solution to a problem that doesn't exist?

Europe's environment chief plans to ban laboratory tests on mankind's closest relatives -- chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos and orangutans -- in a clampdown on animal testing by the drugs industry and other laboratories.

But some animal welfare groups and researchers accused the European Union of masking weak regulation with empty gestures, as no great apes have been used in EU research for six years.

"Today's draft legislation does include a great ape test ban, but as no apes are used in EU research at the moment, this is considered by many animal advocates as something of a token gesture," said the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research, a British-based charity which opposes using animals in experiments.