Over half of the members of the European Parliament signed a written declaration, drafted by Animal Defenders International, calling for urgent action to end the use of great apes and wild-caught monkeys in Europe's laboratories, and for a timetable to be established for the end of all primate experiments.

This has now been adopted by the parliament.

This represents an important political breakthrough and an opportunity for people to participate in a positive campaign to end, once and for all, the terrible suffering of these animals.

Now, we urgently need the public's help to ensure that the commitment expressed by the European Parliament becomes a reality.

A European Commission consultation found that over 80% of respondents considered the use of primates in experiments as 'not acceptable'.

Increasingly, people are aware of the terrible suffering of primates in laboratories and also the problems of using the data obtained from primate experiments for products to be used by people.

Last year, people were horrified when six men nearly died after being given the drug TGN1412. Yet the drug had not shown such effects in monkeys given doses 500 times stronger than the dose given to the human volunteers.

Over 10,000 monkeys die in experiments in Europe every year. Now there is something you can do to help make it a thing of the past.

Please visit www.ad-international.org for more information.

Jan Creamer, Animal Defenders International, London