Supporting International Primate Day - 1 September 2006

That the Parliament welcomes International Primate Day, organised by Animal Defenders International, on 1 September 2006; expresses its deep concern that the United Kingdom has become Europe’s largest user of laboratory monkeys; notes that the use of monkeys in military experiments has soared by 76% in the last five years; highlights that the use of non-human primates is an unreliable predictor of likely human effects, as the disastrous TGN1412 trial has shown; is alarmed by the fact that the very existence of many primate species is threatened by the bush meat, laboratory and pet trades as well as the use of primates for entertainment; calls on the Scottish Executive to push for a ban on primates in experiments at EU level during the current revision process of EU Directive 86/609, and asks the Scottish Executive to support the Berlin Declaration calling for an end to primate experiments, which has been signed by over 200 animal protection organisations, scientists, public figures and parliamentarians worldwide.