#PRESSRELEASE

News from EARA

This page contains all the news outputs from EARA, including press releases and videos, EARA policy and news briefings, plus opinion pieces and significant media articles.

Other pages in this section explain more about EARA on social media and practical information for journalists.

Ebola vaccine in use thanks to ‘curiosity-driven’ basic research

Bob Tolliday

Nov 11, 2018
2 min

Ebola vaccine in use thanks to ‘curiosity-driven’ basic research

There was no known widespread outbreaks of Ebola when the vaccine was developed 15 years ago using animals, says Kirk Leech, EARA Executive Director. There’s a worrying new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) — the second the country has faced since the largest-ever Ebola virus epidemic swept West Africa from 2014 to 2015. The World Health Organization (WHO) learned about the new outbreak in early May, but suspects that, since April, a total of 44 peo

Survey reveals great progress by biomedical sector in Spain to be more open about animal research

Bob Tolliday

Nov 5, 2018
3 min

Survey reveals great progress by biomedical sector in Spain to be more open about animal research

The first report on the Spanish biomedical sector’s commitment to be more transparent about its research using animals, published today, has highlighted the great progress being made to improve openness. Launched in 2016, the Transparency Agreement on Animal Research in Spain, (‘Acuerdo de transparencia sobre el uso de animales en experimentación científica en España’) now has more than 120 public and private research centres, universities and scientific societies as signator

Italian convictions prompt calls for greater openness

Bob Tolliday

Oct 5, 2018
1 min

Italian convictions prompt calls for greater openness

Three Italian animal rights activists convicted of raiding the University of Milan animal labs have received a harsher sentence from the judge following their claim that they were acting on behalf of a ‘higher justice’ for animals. Judge Vincenzina Greco gave the trio an 18-month sentences for the raid in 2013 (also English translation). Commenting on the verdict, Giuliano Grignaschi, secretary-general of Research4Life, said: ‘Those who oppose research on animals don’t have t

The Times opinion piece: ‘Mob rule by animal rights activists cannot be allowed to stop research’

Bob Tolliday

Sep 19, 2018
1 min

The Times opinion piece: ‘Mob rule by animal rights activists cannot be allowed to stop research’

A leader column in The Times newspaper has called on governments across the world to require airlines to carry animals used for research. The newspaper was commenting on an article it ran on the formal complaint to the US Department of Transportation by the National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR), which has accused four airlines operating in the USA, of discrimination by refusing to carry animals for use in medical research when the same animals can be carried as

Bob Tolliday

Sep 19, 2018
1 min

The Times opinion piece: ‘Mob rule by animal rights activists cannot be allowed to stop research’

Nobel Prize awarded for turning the immune system against cancer

Bob Tolliday

Aug 15, 2018
2 min

Nobel Prize awarded for turning the immune system against cancer

This year’s Nobel Prize winners for Physiology or Medicine used animal models to develop their novel cancer therapy. James P. Allison, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA, and Tasuku Honjo, of Kyoto University, Japan, discovered in mice a way of unleashing immune cells to attack tumours by turning off the safeguards in the immune system that prevent it from attacking human tissue. In turn, new drugs can now be developed offering hope to patients with adv

Agreement on transparency in animal research launched in Portugal

Bob Tolliday

Jun 21, 2018
2 min

Agreement on transparency in animal research launched in Portugal

The public announcement of the Transparency Agreement on Animal Research in Portugal will take place today (21 June 2018). This initiative presented by the scientist Nuno Sousa has been proposed by the European Animal Research Association (EARA) and supported by the Portuguese Society of Sciences in Laboratory Animals (SPCAL) and is supported by 16 Portuguese institutions, from across the country, that use animals in biomedical and basic research. The aim of the Transparency

Take responsibility and speak up on animal research in Germany, scientists are urged at EARA event

Bob Tolliday

Jan 17, 2018
2 min

Take responsibility and speak up on animal research in Germany, scientists are urged at EARA event

The German biomedical community has been urged at an EARA event in Berlin, to communicate more to the public, talk about values and explain why animal research is important, not just use ‘facts and figures’. A panel of experts from research, animal welfare and the science media came together to discuss the topic Improving Openness in Animal Research in Germany at the Max Delbrück Center, Berlin, (MDC) in an event supported by the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies

‘Stop Vivisection’ petition unsuccessful

Bob Tolliday

Nov 14, 2017
1 min

‘Stop Vivisection’ petition unsuccessful

We welcome the response of the European Commission to the European Citizens’ Initiative Stop Vivisection petition reiterating its support for the European Directive 2010/63 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. Any roll back from the Directive would have jeopardised the European Research Area and Europe’s leading role in important biomedical research that benefits both human and animal health. Kirk Leech, Executive Director of the European Animal Research

Max Planck Society publishes White Paper on animal research

Bob Tolliday

Jan 16, 2017
2 min

Max Planck Society publishes White Paper on animal research

The Max Planck Society (MPS) in Germany has published a White Paper in which it outlines key ethical issues surrounding the use of animals in basic research. The Senate of the MPS has adopted the white paper as a declaration of principle. The White Paper states why animal research is still a vital part of life sciences research, and explains the legal and ethical framework that regulates animal research at the Max Planck Society. Together with the 3Rs, these issues shape the

UK Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, 2014

Bob Tolliday

Jan 5, 2017
1 min

UK Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, 2014

London, 22 October 2015 The Home Office, the UK Government department for Internal Affairs, has today released the annual statistics on the number of animals used in research in 2014. Understanding Animal Research, the UK based group advocating to broaden the understanding and acceptance of the humane use of animals in biomedical research, has commented on these figures on their website. Kirk Leech, Executive Director of the European Animal Research Association (EARA), adds:

The Italian Research Community asks the European Commission to amend Italian transposition of Direct

Bob Tolliday

Aug 15, 2016
2 min

The Italian Research Community asks the European Commission to amend Italian transposition of Direct

Over 37 private and publicly funded Italian organisations, coordinated by EARA’s Italian partner Research4life, have addressed the European Commission in a letter last Friday requesting it to reassess the Italian law on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. The Italian legislative decree No. 26 of 4th March 2014 transposes to the Italian law the European Directive No. 63 of 22nd September 2010. The legislative decree 26/2014 introduced unprecedented provisio

Bob Tolliday

Aug 15, 2016
1 min

Animal research & Downton Abbey

In one of the goriest scenes on television last year, Lord Grantham of Downton Abbey collapsed after violently coughing up blood all over the dining table. It turned out to be a burst peptic ulcer. In Downton Abbey’s 1925 world, the doctor advised Lord Grantham to keep a healthy diet and to abstain from alcohol. But nearly a century later we have a much better understanding of the cause and treatment of peptic ulcers, partly thanks to animal research. The Foundation for Biome

3D-printed structures successfully implanted into animals

Bob Tolliday

Aug 15, 2016
1 min

3D-printed structures successfully implanted into animals

Scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine have managed to 3D print structures made of living cells that were successfully implanted into animals, as reported in Nature Biotechnology on Monday. The field of 3D-printed organs is not a new one, but these researchers managed to print all required components using the same printer and also allow for the growth of vasculature. The 3D-printed structures – ear, bone and muscle – were successfully implanted int

Belgian research organisations unite in support of animal research

Bob Tolliday

Aug 15, 2016
2 min

Belgian research organisations unite in support of animal research

We are proud to announce the release today of a Statement in support of animal research and a transparent approach in Belgium to mark World Day for Laboratory Animals (April 24th). Signed by 24 research organisations, the statement sees public and private research institutions from all three regions in Belgium unite in a pledge for openness on animal research. In the statement, the signatories explain the important role of animals in research. They commit to work together for

Green Hill ruling affirmed in Court of Appeals

Bob Tolliday

Aug 15, 2016
2 min

Green Hill ruling affirmed in Court of Appeals

On Tuesday, the Brescia Court of Appeals affirmed the initial ruling against three staff members of the Green Hill breeding facility in Italy. They were originally charged with cruelty to animals in their care, and with unjustifiably putting down some of the dogs, resulting in jail sentences between 12 and 18 months. The Court will release their motivation three months from now. Green Hill, a beagle breeding facility in the Lombardy region in Northern Italy, has been the vict

The Fight Against Zika Relies On Animal Research

Bob Tolliday

Aug 15, 2016
4 min

The Fight Against Zika Relies On Animal Research

This post was originally published on the website of the Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR) on January 28, 2016. It is republished here with permission from FBR. The major public health problem of 2016 has been the sharp rise in the ongoing outbreak of the Zika virus, as well as its probable link to microcephaly in infants. While Zika has been on the rise since 2014, it has recently reached pandemic levels and is forecast to spread to nearly all of North America; outbre

Environmental factors can improve reproducibility

Bob Tolliday

Aug 15, 2016
1 min

Environmental factors can improve reproducibility

At a meeting on improving mouse models of disease held last week at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridge, scientists and technicians came together to discuss opportunities to improve the reproducibility of research results obtained using mouse models. Nature reported on some of the environmental and biological factors that affect mouse studies. More and more research is emerging to show the effects of the microbiome on the body, so controlling lab animals’ diet is imperati

Scientists’ engagement in animal research policy-making – Lab Animal Europe column

Bob Tolliday

Aug 13, 2016
1 min

Scientists’ engagement in animal research policy-making – Lab Animal Europe column

The November issue of Lab Animal Europe magazine features an Outreach article written by Emma Martinez, EARA Communications and Policy Officer. In this article, also published in Lab Animal (US), Emma discusses how the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Stop vivisection’ and the review of Directive 2010/63/EU converge on the European Commission scientific conference ‘Non-Animal Approaches – The Way Forward’ and the need for scientific engagement. #PressRelease #EARABriefing #EU

Australian Senate rejects bill to ban the importation of non-human primates

Bob Tolliday

Aug 5, 2016
2 min

Australian Senate rejects bill to ban the importation of non-human primates

Last week, the Australian Senate released their report in response to a proposed law amendment to ban the importation of non-human primates to Australia for the purposes of scientific research. After receiving submissions opposing the bill from scientific organisations and individuals from around the globe, including EARA, the Senate has decided not to pass the bill. A group of Australian scientists called out to the scientific community in February for support in responding