EU Bans Primate Testing

The European Parliament has passed a revision to the European Union (EU) laws regarding animal testing on primates, which severely limits their use in all 27 EU member countries. The legislation is aimed toward the 12,000 primates who are used for research in the EU, which accounts for around one-tenth of a percent of its 12 million test animals. The law most specifically restricts the use of great apes—the non-humans most closely genetically related to people—and has less-strict guidelines for small primates. The updated laws say that primates may only be used in biomedical areas for the benefit of human beings, and labs that still test on animals are subject to unannounced government visits.