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16/10/09
The Swiss
Supreme Court ruled this week against the Polytechnic School of the University
of Zurich, which was appealing a decision to deny them the license for two
scientific projects involving the use of primates. The two neurological
projects using macaques were aimed at studying learning processes and involved
maximum suffering of the animals on the Swiss scale of severity. Originally
submitted in 2006, the projects did not have any direct benefit for human
health.
The researchers were planning to severely restrain the monkeys, deny them
any access to water for 12 hours and implant devices into their brains before
killing them. The Zurich Cantonal Committee on Animal Experimentation lifted
the researcher's authorisation in 2006, on the basis that the cost to the
animals (pain, injury, intensive fear, significant disturbance of general
condition) did not balance the benefits for humans. A three year legal battle
followed, but at each stage the Swiss courts ruled in favour of the Cantonal
Committee, until the Supreme Court finally halted the scientists' proceedings
this week.
The Swiss Constitution and the Swiss Animal Welfare Act protects the dignity
of animals. This concept protects them from unjustifiable suffering, but
also humiliation and excessive use as research tools. This ruling practically
bans the use of primates in basic research in Switzerland.
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