More must be done to protect animals at LPT and in laboratories across Europe
According to the latest press reports in Germany, the local public prosecutor's office will now be opening a preliminary investigation for animal cruelty against LPT.
This comes as a result of evidence from our joint investigation with SOKO Tierschutz into the terrible plight of animals at the facility in Lower Saxony.
The local veterinary authority is also taking action against LPT for the size of the cages in which 44 of the monkeys were kept.
In addition, it is reported that the Lower Saxony Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LAVES) - the responsible local authority - has filed criminal charges too.
Whilst we are obviously pleased that our joint investigation has prompted some action on the part of the authorities, we believe that this is too little too late.
Cruelty Free Internationals' Director of Science, Dr Katy Taylor, said: "This initial response is of course welcome, but we do not believe that it goes far enough to protect the animals at this laboratory and others. Our evidence show cruelty and breaches of law that we believe mean that LPT should immediately lose its authorization to carry out animal tests and the facility should be closed down. We also believe that as a priority, an independent investigation should be set up to ensure that similar failings at other animal laboratories in Lower Saxony and Germany as a whole are rooted out as soon as possible.
It is imperative that findings from our investigation are not dismissed as an isolated incident. This is the real face of toxicity testing on animals throughout Europe and beyond. The EU prides itself on its standards of animal protection. If this is the case, then the new Commission should immediately establish an urgent and comprehensive review of animals used in regulatory toxicology testing."
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