Animal testing covered by rigorous processes

Animal testing has an important role to play in ensuring safety for both humans and animals.

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Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton today challenged the Green Party's Animal Welfare spokesperson on her statement on the use of animals for research. "Ms Kedgley says that "A bright light needs to be shone into the murky and secretive world of animal testing."

"No-one wants to see animals suffering," Jim Anderton said. "For that reason all research work done with animals in New Zealand is subject by law to a great deal of scrutiny. There's nothing 'murky' about it."

The Green Party put out their statement following the release of the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee's (NAEAC) Annual Report, released yesterday.

Jim Anderton said that New Zealand has a rigorous system in place. "Before any research project can be carried out, it has to be approved by an Animal Ethics Committee (AEC). The Committees use criteria established in the Animal Welfare Act when weighing up the proposals put before them, and they are also required to monitor projects for compliance. Furthermore, all code holders are required to submit statistics each year in accordance with the Animal Welfare (Records and Statistics) Regulations 1999.

"The NAEAC actively promotes the reduction of numbers of animals in research, as well as encouraging researchers to look for alternative non-animal methods of testing," Jim Anderton said. "But New Zealanders would do well to remember the important role that animal testing plays in ensuring the safety, for both humans and animals, of drugs, medical devices, surgical procedures and anaesthetics.

"We have a lot to thank our medical researchers for," Jim Anderton said.

Each AEC must have at least four members, three of whom must come from outside the organisation carrying out the research, must include a vet nominated by the NZ Veterinary Association, must include someone nominated by an approved organisation, such as the SPCA, and must include a person nominated by a local authority.