ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS AND SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS

That this House recognises that there are difficult ethical issues in relation to the use of animals in scientific and medical research; believes research using animals should be well-regulated with full consideration given to benefits and harms; supports more efforts to apply the 3Rs (refinement, reduction and replacement) to improve animal welfare, minimise animal usage and adopt alternative methods where possible; calls for greater openness about animal experiments from the research community, which should itself be free from harassment and intimidation; wishes to see more systematic reviews to examine critically the scientific validity of animal research projects; calls on the Government to use its influence to seek international validation and acceptance of alternatives wherever possible; realises that such research has brought great benefits to human and veterinary health and well-being; and urges all involved to seek reasoned dialogue on this issue.