#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.

Declaração de apoio à Diretiva Europeia 2010/63/UE

Bob Tolliday

Mar 22, 2016
2 min

Declaração de apoio à Diretiva Europeia 2010/63/UE

Declaração de apoio à Diretiva Europeia 2010/63/UE (“Diretiva”) relativa à proteção dos animais utilizados para fins científicos A utilização de animais na investigação tem facilitado os maiores avanços na medicina que transformaram a saúde humana e animal. Apoiamos a utilização de animais na investigação quando não existam métodos alternativos disponíveis, quando os potenciais benefícios para a saúde sejam imperativos e quando as normas aceitáveis de ética e bem-estar possam

Reducing animals in toxicity research with a new database

Bob Tolliday

Feb 12, 2016
1 min

Reducing animals in toxicity research with a new database

Scientists at John’s Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland have developed a database compiling toxicity data of a large number of chemicals. This database could help predict health risks of as yet untested substances, thereby reducing the number animal studies necessary to determine toxicity. The database makes use of publicly available data collected by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) under the REACH regulation (registration, evaluation, authorization and restrictio

191 Research Institutions Sign Statement in Support of European Animal Research Legislation

Bob Tolliday

Jan 28, 2016
2 min

191 Research Institutions Sign Statement in Support of European Animal Research Legislation

London, UK 10th November 2015 191 organisations signed a statement published today by the European Animal Research Association (EARA) in support of the Directive that protects animals used in scientific purposes. This joint effort illustrates the continued need for the responsible use of animals in medical, veterinary and basic research. It is released on the deadline set by the European Commission for Member States to submit the annual animal research statistics. This is the

Заявление в поддержку Директивы 2010/63/EU

Bob Tolliday

Jan 28, 2016
2 min

Заявление в поддержку Директивы 2010/63/EU

Заявление в поддержку Европейской Директивы 2010/63/EU (Директива) о защите животных, используемых в научных целях. Использование животных в научных исследованиях способствовало основным прорывам в медицине, которые обеспечивают здоровье людей и животных. Мы поддерживаем исследования на животных в тех случаях, когда альтернативные методы недоступны, когда потенциальная польза с точки зрения здоровья несомненна, и когда приемлемые этические стандарты и благополучие животных мо

Nobel Prize 2015: using animal research to get rid of parasites

Bob Tolliday

Jan 27, 2016
2 min

Nobel Prize 2015: using animal research to get rid of parasites

The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine is shared between William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura, and Youyou Tu, who contributed to fighting parasitic diseases, among which malaria. The research behind this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine has once again relied on animal research – over the past 40 years, every Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine bar onehas done so. Youyou Tu’s group screened over 200 herbs from traditional Chinese medicine on monkey and mouse models

Statement from European Directive 2010/63/EU (“Directive”) the protection of animals used in Science

Bob Tolliday

Jan 27, 2016
2 min

Statement from European Directive 2010/63/EU (“Directive”) the protection of animals used in Science

The use of animals in research has facilitated major breakthroughs in medicine which have transformed human and animal health. We support research using animals where alternative methods are not available, where the potential benefits to health are compelling, and where acceptable ethical and welfare standards can be met. The European Directive 2010/63/EU has enhanced animal welfare standards and introduced the concepts of refinement, replacement and reduction (‘3Rs’) across

Statement in support of European Directive 2010/63 features in Lab Animal Europe

Bob Tolliday

Jan 27, 2016
1 min

Statement in support of European Directive 2010/63 features in Lab Animal Europe

The European Animal Research Association (EARA) has published a statement on behalf of leading biomedical research organisations, learned societies, industry representatives, universities and patient groups in Europe in support of Directive 2010/63/EU. With the Directive being reviewed in 2017 as part of the standard European legislative process, this statement illustrates the continued need for the responsible use of animals in medical, veterinary and basic research and the

Mitochondrial Donation: The Animal Research that Paved the Way

Bob Tolliday

Dec 8, 2015
3 min

Mitochondrial Donation: The Animal Research that Paved the Way

Earlier this month Britain become the first country in the world to permit mitochondrial donation to be used in treatment and help prevent serious genetic diseases. The procedure, which allows IVF babies to be created using donor mitochondrial DNA, has the potential to help some 2,500 mother in the UK alone. Many are not only concerned with the ethics, but on how safe the procedure actually is. Previous research has used mice and rhesus monkeys, but are these animals a good i

Bob Tolliday

Dec 8, 2015
1 min

EARA welcomes B&K decision

Media Release London, 16 July 2015 Kirk Leech, Executive Director of the European Animal Research Association: “This is good news. Finally some sense has prevailed. This decision ensures the continuation in the UK of important medical research for the development of new medicines and treatments both for human and animal health. Very few dogs are used in research in the UK, 4,643 in 2012, but they have been important in many medical advances, for example the discovery of insul

Pro-Test Deutschland: Yes to research in Germany!

Bob Tolliday

Jul 6, 2015
4 min

Pro-Test Deutschland: Yes to research in Germany!

Our peers at Pro-test Germany explain the mission of this recently launched advocacy organisation. Pro-Test Deutschland lends its voice to science. We supply information for everyone to help understand the role of animal experiments in research. By offering clarification on many scientific, ethical, legal, social, and psychological aspects of animal research, we provide a common platform to all those who wish to stand up for science. And above all, we say: Yes to research. Ye

Bob Tolliday

Jun 16, 2015
3 min

Good News on Fast Tracked Ebola Vaccine

The current Ebola outbreak is the worst the world has ever seen with 22,000 infections and 9,000 deaths recorded so far. The epidemic has affected six West African nations with Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia among the worst hit. With a mortality rate between 50% and 90%, the virus spreads through the human population with devastating consequences. But the first batch of an experimental vaccine— now being sent to Liberia—offers fresh hope to control the disease. This is one

More than 120 organisations oppose ‘Stop Vivisection’ initiative

Bob Tolliday

May 25, 2015
2 min

More than 120 organisations oppose ‘Stop Vivisection’ initiative

Media Release London, 4th March 2015 EARA joins research funders and organisations, learned societies and patient groups in a joint statement to support Directive 2010/63/EU and to oppose ‘Stop Vivisection’ Citizens’ Initiative, which was submitted yesterday to the European Commission. Given the importance of animal research in science and scientific developments, a coalition of leading research funders, research organisations, learned societies and patient groups has issued

Stop Vivisection Public Hearing at the European Parliament

Bob Tolliday

May 19, 2015
1 min

Stop Vivisection Public Hearing at the European Parliament

Last Monday 11th May the public hearing of the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Stop Vivisection’ was held at the European Parliament. During the debate, the petition’s organisers and an expert panel composed by 2008 Physiology or Medicine Nobel Laureate Françoise Barré-Sinoussi explained to Members of the European Parliament their arguments for their position towards the continued use of animals in scientific procedures. EARA has made the full transcript and put together the

Activists Turn to EU to Ban Animal Research

Bob Tolliday

Apr 9, 2015
3 min

Activists Turn to EU to Ban Animal Research

There is a new effort to ban animal research in Europe. The Stop Vivisection European Citizens’ Initiative, and its 1.2 million signatures, has been submitted to the European Commission and the organisers have now been invited to discuss their petition. The initiative calls for: “the European Commission to abrogate directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes and to present a new proposal that does away with animal experimentation”. The organ

‘Politically-motivated’ campaign against Green Hill in Italy condemned by EARA

Bob Tolliday

Mar 25, 2015
2 min

‘Politically-motivated’ campaign against Green Hill in Italy condemned by EARA

London, 25 March 2015 Green Hill facility in Montichiari (Italy) persecuted for breeding dogs for scientific research Case re-opened without new evidence despite not-guilty verdict in 2013 Italian legislators threaten biomedical progress in Europe by backing animal rights groups in a politically-motivated campaign against Green Hill In an appalling politically-motivated campaign, with collateral implications for the UK and the rest of Europe, an Italian judge announced yester

Understanding research involving animals and the alternatives

Bob Tolliday

Mar 22, 2015
1 min

Understanding research involving animals and the alternatives

A joint open meeting, hosted by Ms Vicky Ford MEP and Dr Cristian Busoi MEP, at the European Parliament, in Brussels, in January 2015, discussed why, and in which ways, animals are used in scientific, medical and veterinary research in the EU as well as the principles of refinement, replacement and reduction (3Rs) and how they are applied in research. Read the programme and report of the meeting. #PressRelease #EU

Bob Tolliday

Feb 23, 2015
4 min

Keep Research Flying

The following guest post by Kirk Leech originally appeared in the Huffington Post. Mr. Leech is the Executive Director of the European Animal Research Association (EARA). People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently announced that Justin Bieber agrees that “Air France Sucks” for Sending Monkeys to Labs. That the singer is known to have kept monkeys as pets seems to have escaped the group’s opportunist propaganda eyes. Yet Bieber joins a growing number of celebr

Bob Tolliday

Feb 13, 2015
2 min

Why heart research on dogs is required

The European Animal Research Association (EARA) supports the use of experimental animals when no other alternative is possible. The research into pacemakers supported by the Dutch Heart Foundation and performed by Maastricht University requires the use of dogs because their hearts are a similar size to ours and because their ‘electrical wiring’ behaves much like ours. Kirk Leech, Executive Director, European Animal Research Association, said: “Biomedical research develops new

Neuroscience research on macaques at the Max Planck Institute, Tubingen (MPI): A reply to the BUAV

Bob Tolliday

Feb 13, 2015
5 min

Neuroscience research on macaques at the Max Planck Institute, Tubingen (MPI): A reply to the BUAV

The Chief Executive of the BUAV, Michelle Thew, has written to the European Animal Research Association (EARA) over comments on our website that challenged claims made following an undercover investigation at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tubingen, Germany, by their partner group Soko-Tierschutz. Neuroscience research on macaques at the Max Planck Institute, Tubingen (MPI): a reply to the BUAV The BUAV and their German counterparts, Soko-Tierschutz, c

A response to Jane Goodall: Why we need to keep research flying

Bob Tolliday

Oct 2, 2014
4 min

A response to Jane Goodall: Why we need to keep research flying

Kirk Leech, Executive Director, writes a response to Jane Goodall, explaining the importance of allowing the transportation of animals for biomedical research. Published in ‘The Economic Voice’ Jane Goodall's concern for the welfare of Non-Human Primates (NHPs), in her email to Air France (The Economic Voice May 12th) whilst laudable, fails to recognise current realities. The Cynomolgus Macaque is recognized as a highly invasive species. It seriously undermines and destroys b