Protection of vertebrate animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes
The Council of the EU has decided to approve the European Convention for the protection of vertebrate animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes. This decision has now been published in the Official Journal. The Convention states that the use of animals for scientific purposes should be limited where possible, by seeking alternative measures and encouraging their use. Where animals are used in scientific experiments an agreement between Member States should be adopted to protect such animals from pain and suffering, or where unavoidable to keep their distress to a minimum. The Convention, full details of which are available in the Official Journal, was agreed at Strasbourg on 18 March 1986. However the Council rejected article 28.1 of the Convention, stating that it does not consider itself bound to communicate statistical data on the numbers and kinds of animals used in procedures, the numbers used in medicine, education and training, the numbers used in procedures for the protection of man and the environment and the numbers used in procedures required by law.