Stop Vivisection campaigners make scientific case

Animal experimentation is hindering basic research and impeding the development of a HIV vaccine, the organisers of the Stop Vivisection citizens' initiative have told MEPs, during a heated debate in response to the initiative.

Under the rules of the European Citizens’ Initiative, the European Commission must consider any proposal that has received 1 million signatures within a 12-month period, meeting population-related thresholds in at least seven EU countries. With more than 1.2 million signatures collected, the Stop Vivisection campaign is about to reach the end of that process. 

At a hearing at the European Parliament on 11 May, the last step before the Commission takes a decision, the campaigners tried to convince MEPs of the need to ban animal testing in research, on the grounds that a very limited number of experiments using animals have led to effective drugs for humans. Despite the strong support given to the campaign by animal welfare groups, the organisers decided to focus their strategy on the scientific impact of continuing animal testing rather than on simply defending animal rights.