Several lawmakers led by Green MEP Tilly Metz said a project to expand a French primatology centre contradicts the EU’s aim to end animal testing, in a letter sent to Philippe Baptiste, the French Minister for Higher Education on Tuesday.
Located at the foot of Montagne Sainte-Victoire, near Aix-en-Provence in southern France, the primatology centre has been in operation for decades and is now set to evolve into the future National Primatology Centre.
Managed by the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the station has announced plans to triple the number of primates housed there by 2029.
“A €31m public investment hosting up to 1,800 non-human primates risks increasing their use in research,” said Tilly Metz, pointing to public opposition to vivisection and EU plans to phase out animal testing.
MEPs advise France to follow the example of the Netherlands, where the government has decided to gradually redirect subsidies for primate research towards animal-free research.
To date, France does not have “a national centre dedicated to the development and use of non-animal methods,” the signatories of the letter pointed out.
They point out that according to a survey, 86% of French citizens are in favour of a total ban on animal testing.
A month ago, in another cross-party letter, Metz urged the Commission to publish the Roadmap to phase out animal testing for chemical safety assessments.
(rh)