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EBRA Bulletins for 2003 - Organised by Month
Bulletin Issue December 2003
UK Lords complain ofbureaucratic licensing system
Cosmetic campaign re-starts In October, the UK House of Lords finally debated their report on Animals in Scientific Procedures. The report, published in July 2002, was written by a Select...more
European Commission pushes ahead with revision of Directive
The Environment Directorate is pushing ahead with the first phase of the revision of Directive 86/609 which regulates animal research across Europe. A Technical Expert Working Group (TEWG) was set...more
Animal welfare prize awarded to Norwegian Centre
The 2003 GlaxoSmithKline Laboratory Animal Welfare Prize has been awarded to the Norwegian Reference Centre for Laboratory Animal Science and Alternatives at the Oslo Veterinary School. The award was made...more
Challenges to EU cosmetic testing ban
The French government has lodged a case at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg demanding that the recently-agreed EU Directive banning the testing of cosmetics and the sale of...more
Infiltration of Covance in Germany
In early December a German TV station showed film taken by an infiltrator in the laboratory in Munster, Germany, of the contract research company Covance. The infiltrator, from the British...more
Campaign for animal protection in the EU Constitution
A coalition of European animal protection groups is campaigning for the new European Union Constitution to include animal welfare amongst the objectives of the EU. The coalition of 25 groups,...more
Israel seeks a truce with protesters
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem recently took an unprecedented step to resolve the protest against animal research that has been growing in Israel over the last two years. In late...more
Israeli primate supplier continues to operate
Israel's only laboratory primate breeder will be able continue operating, despite a letter from the outgoing Israeli Environment Minister that appeared to put its future at risk. In early February,...more
Bulletin Issue July 2003
Revision of Directive 86/609 gets underway
At the end of June, the European Commission (Directorate-General Environment) called the first meeting of a Technical Expert Working Group to provide scientific and technical advice on the revision of...more
Swiss animal welfare group starts referendum
One of the main animal welfare organisations in Switzerland, the STS, is calling for a national referendum on animal welfare which will include provisions that could change the legislation regulating...more
Recognising and assessing pain, suffering and distress in laboratory animals
The importance of good staff trainingPain and suffering among laboratory animals is one of the major concerns of those involved in experiments as well as the public at large. Recognising...more
Swedish cat breeder closes
Sweden's only laboratory cat breeder, Kuskatorpet, in Halmstad, announced its immediate closure on 25 March. Based in the south of Sweden, it had been supplying laboratory cats for over 20...more
Bulletin Issue March 2003
Parliament approves Evans' report
The European Parliament Environment Committee's 'own initiative' report on the protection of animals used for experiments was adopted by the full Parliament at its plenary session on 4 December. The...more
The welfare of non-human primates in research
On 17 December, the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Welfare published an extensive report on the welfare of non-human primates used in research. EBRA invited David Morton,...more
Campaign for Medical Progress launches in the UK
A new alliance, set up to explain the case for medical progress and the benefits brought about by animal research, was launched in London in March. Founder members include academic...more
UK to publish summaries of animal licences
The United Kingdom is proposing to publish a summary of every new project licence granted for animal research. In its response to the recent House of Lords Committee report on...more
Report exonerates Cambridge University
The UK government has reported on allegations of malpractice in primate research at Cambridge University and stated that "No evidence has been found to support any of the BUAV's main...more
Italy delays decision on cat, dog ban
The Italian Constitutional Court recently announced that it would not be making a decision until late 2003 on a case that may decide whether cats and dogs can be used...more
Candidate countries less hostile
The first major European Commission survey of attitudes to science in the candidate countries was published in early April, and showed interesting differences in attitudes to animal experimentation between the...more