Letter to the Star
The Coalition promised to “work to reduce the use of animals in scientific research”. But the Home Office report for 2011 issued the other day shows a rise of 2 percent to 3.7 million experiments on animals – 40 percent higher than a decade ago.
Just before that the Home Office announced plans for new loopholes for vivisectors under the excuse of conforming to a new EU Directive:
- No more protection for stray pets and ferals against being rounded up and used in labs;
- Repeated electric shocks to the point of “learned helplessness” to be authorised ( that means that the animal is in such terror and pain that it just cowers, no longer trying to escape);
- Total isolation of individual dogs and monkeys to be authorised;
- For vivisectors, total exemption from the Freedom of Information Act to be maintained ( that means that the public gets to know nothing about any experiments unless it is later published in a professional journal – most aren`t ).
A broken promise and a catalogue of cruelty from the Coalition ! And a LibDem minister – Lynne Featherstone – responsible.
Michael Maas
Footnote
Here is a summary of the Green Party policy on animal protection. The full policy can be found here.
Taking animal protection seriously
We share the world with other animals and are not entitled to ill-treat or exploit them.
Accordingly we would:
- Phase out all forms of factory farming of animals and enforce strict animal welfare standards generally, including in organic agriculture.
- Ensure that the European ban on seal imports is implemented fully; ban the import of real fur products, but ensure that real fur is clearly labelled until a ban is in place; press the EU to ban fur factory farming; bring in non-lethal alternatives to shooting seals at fish farms.
- Maintain the ban on hunting with dogs and extend to other blood sports, including the use of snares, and oppose badger culling.
- Immediately ban causing harm to animals (including but not only primates) in research, testing and education, and invest in the development of alternatives to animal experiments.
- End live animal exports and limit journey times for all animal transport.
- Implement a full ban on the production and sale of eggs produced from hens kept in battery cages (including ‘enriched’ cages).
- Protect biodiversity and human and animal health.We will always adopt the ‘precautionary principle’ with regard to any alleged benefits of new technologies such as genetic modification, cloning, xenotransplantation and nanotechnology.
- Regulate the companion animal trade including a ban on the import of so-called ‘exotic pets’.