The process to revise the law governing vivisection across the whole of the European Union has reached another critical moment. The draft Directive - having passed through the European Parliament - is now being re-shaped by the Council of Ministers, which is made up of ministers from every Member State. The Council of Ministers may adopt its position by the end of November.

Please use the sample letter from ECEAE European Coalition to End Animal Experiments and send it to MEPs

the list of MEPs addresses:

http://againess-en.wikidot.com/meps-addresses

I haven't pasted all countries yet  

Thanks to Phillippe - Care2 friend I have French MEPs

but anyway it won't be possible to send to all at once

the sample letter:

RE: Revision of EC Directive 86/609

I am contacting you today in relation to the current revision of
the Directive 86/609/EEC on the protection of animals used in
experiments. As you know, the report of the European Parliament
was adopted on the 5th May, and the Council of Ministers may
adopt its position by the end of November.

I am writing to you today as I believe that the report adopted
by the Parliament does not begin to reflect public opinion (as
demonstrated by the recent YouGov poll in six representative EU
countries: www.eceae.org/poll) in fact it is anti-animal welfare
in many respects.

I urge you to support the ECEAE’s demands for legislation
which is both more humane and represents better, more modern
science:

• A ban on the use of non-human primates, cats and dogs. If the

use of some primates nevertheless continues for the time being,
there must be unconditional bans on the use of great apes and
wild-caught primates and an end to the use of FI primates
(because this necessarily involves the trapping of animals in the
wild, with its attendant immense suffering, for breeding
purposes)

• A rigorous harm/benefit test for all projects involving

animals, conducted by national governments. Experiments for
household products, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, psychology
testing, education and training and other experiments not related
to serious and life-threatening human conditions or essential
products should not be allowed.

• A retrospective review of all projects when they come to an

end. This is important to assess the scientific utility of a
project and to inform future authorisation decisions. Projects
should in addition be kept under review throughout their life

• A prohibition on causing severe suffering which is more than

transient

• Re- use of animals (i.e. in experiments when another animal

could be used without affecting the scientific objectives) to be
allowed only in the ‘double-mild’ situation (i.e. where both
the first and repeat procedure involve only ‘mild’ suffering)
and after a particularly rigorous harm:benefit assessment.

• Far greater transparency, with only genuinely confidential

information and information which could identify those involved
with animal research protected.

• A prohibition on unnecessary duplication of animal

experiments

• Far greater funding for and compulsion to develop and use

alternatives.

• An obligation on the Commission, in conjunction with

stakeholders, to hold regular reviews of the new directive, to
ensure that it reflects evolving public opinion and developing
science, all in the context of achieving the objective, which
everyone says they share, of animal-free science as soon as
possible

In short, as an elected representative, you must do what the
European public wants, and should not give in to the
scaremongering of the very powerful animal testing industry that
important research would come to an end, or migrate outside the
EU, if animal protection is improved. This is palpable nonsense.

(Your signature)

--------------------------------

for UK residents there is one more action:

http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/CAMPAIGNS/experiments//2203//

Made a start - sent to UK and Poland MEPs tonight- will send some more email blocks tomorrow night.

What a huge amount of work you've put in, Joanna!

Wow - already a heap of replies - some good-sounding, one asking me to identify where I was from, 8 returned, (2 as spam) 2 "no such mailbox/user" - and an acerbic response from the office of Nigel Farage - I seem to recall a similar response when emailing previously, I THINK on the subject of stray dogs? 

Dear  Pamela Fioretti

Thank you for writing to Nigel Farage about the EU's failure to deliver any worthwhile counterbalance to the appalling increase in animal-experiments, being created by the REACh-regulation.

As I said previously - to a great many correspondents - this was only to be expected, the humanitarian NGO's now being in the EU's pay to shut up about REACh and promote ineffective, but emotive, EU-projects, supposedly aimed at producing non-vivisectory experimental methods.

The UKIP did not oppose any of the humanitarian amendments to the Parish-report, but, as I told our many correspondents on the subject, we had no hopes that it would improve matters, anyway.

I'm sorry you were disappointed.  However, while the UK remains tied to the EU, such disappointments will be frequent and inevitable.

Yours sincerely

Andrew S. Reed

(Office of Nigel Farage, Strasbourg, www.ukip.org )

Pam do you remember this tw...??? he was sending such emails last time!!!

I couldn't believe I saw him again in the new parliament (he's against European Union - why he's MEP??? have no idea) but anyway I added his email as well - he shouldn't think we will ever give up!!

Thanks a lot!!!

I'll be sending today from other maibox and I'll check all bouncing emails. (he he maybe some of MEPs who started the work for the first time haven't checked their mailboxes yet)

Upss I didn't check the bounced last time - I corrected them now

Me too!....sent to all Uk mep's today, also the 2 througth the animal aid action.

Will continue with the list tomorrrow.

Thanks Joanna for all your hard work!

Sent to France and Germany tonight.

I certainly do remember the "tw", Joanna - he does have a huge grudge against the EU - and doesn't mind telling it as he sees it! 

I don't know much about politics - but I don't know that I disagree with him,on the face of it! 

And his emails certainly make a change from the formula replies of most of them!

Final-Recipient: rfc822;reinhard.butikofer@europarl.europa.eu
Action: failed
Status: 5.7.1

Final-Recipient: rfc822atrick.lehyaric@europarl.europa.eu michel.barnier@europarl.europa.eu
Action: failed
Status: 5.1.3

<secretariat73@orange.fr>: host smtp-in.orange.fr[80.12.242.15] said: 550 5.1.1
<secretariat73@orange.fr>: Recipient address rejected: User unknown (in
reply to RCPT TO command)

Just done Poland and France.

3 replies to the Uk mails I sent yesterday, asking me to forward my address, in order for them to forward my mail to my regional MEP. I have done so!

Another very short reply:

I agree.
Mike Nattrass MEP

None bounced from the UK list.

Sent to the whole list.  And I've added it to my repeat folder.  Will continue to send every night.  Thank you Joanna.  A huge amount of work.  I'm 100% behind you on this issue.  Big hug.

Just done the Germany block.

Only this one has come back:

Delivery to the following recipients failed.

reinhard.butikofer@europarl.europa.eu

Sorry Joanna, it doesn't give a reason why this one failed. I see also for Pam too...

HI. I wanted to send the emails to MEP's for the EU Directive, but found that I could only do this literally one email address at a time -- I was not able to scoop out blocks of emails from the list to copy and paste. Does anyone know how to get around this?

Carole, all you need to do is highlight the whole block, and right click while your mouse is over the highlighted block, then select copy and in the email address section of your mailer right click and select paste.  If however you are doing this and it does not accept it, then you probably need to replace the semi-colons with a comma.  The quick way to do this is to paste the block into Microsoft Word, then press down Ctrl and 'H'.   Type in ;  in the find and type in , in the replace AND then click on the 'replace all'  button.   Then copy the block and paste into your mailer.   Save this sent mail and just keep on forwarding it.  Then you won't have to do it over again.   Just to keep tabs on the blocks with the ****  as Joanna said more emails will be added.

Hope this helps.  hugs,

Sent to Spain and Sweden.

Final-Recipient: rfc822;giles@gileschichestermep.org.uk
Action: failed
Status: 4.4.7

Final-Recipient: rfc822ablo.zalbabidegain@europarl.europa.euSWEDEN
Action: failed
Status: 5.4.0

Sent to MEP's / Spain and Sweden.

(isabella.loevin@europarl.europa.eu

The office is closed the 16th of October)

I presume others will have received this reply:

Madam, 

It is with interest that I read your letter in which you make your concerns about the revision of Directive 86/609 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes.  

Like you, I hope that this EU directive allows to reduce and regulate the use of animal testing in areas such as medical research and cosmetics.   

             I am, of course, very conducive to improving the welfare of animals and caring welfare rights, the protection of health and research development on our continent.  

There are researchers used animal friendly and caring part of their daily lives. Meanwhile, they seek to develop alternative methods that have increased dramatically, particularly in the field of cosmetology.   

             However, work on basic biological research on human and animal diseases on the development of new drugs or new surgical methods still use animals. Currently, there is unfortunately no alternative. 
Primates are a resource rarely used (0.1%) but essential for biomedical research in particular in research on Parkinson's disease or neurodegenerative diseases, and toxicology studies.   

             We must find a balance that combines the protection, respect for animals and the need for advanced research. Administrative burdens too heavy for the rearing conditions, maintenance and use of laboratory animals, may cause a relocation of biomedical research into areas of the world where research and control tests were may not be the same rigor and the same security in the countries of the European Union. 

We must at all costs avoid the massive relocation of industrial activities in countries like China, such a movement might indeed cause not only the disappearance of entire basic research in Europe, but also use more than mass of animals for research. In countries where animal protection is nonexistent, where life and animal suffering are not considered, this relocation would entail too many unnecessary sacrifices. 

The defense is an animal fight constantly renewed and fronts are many. I recently signed a written statement to improve the transport of horses for slaughter and another focused on promoting alternatives to animal testing.  

The circus animals also deserve our full attention and vigilance. I am vice-president of the Intergroup for Animal Welfare in the European Parliament and all these causes are dear to my heart, you can count on my commitment and my determination.  
             Finally, the measures proposed in the draft guideline should be based on facts indisputable benefits in terms of animal welfare without compromising the research in Europe. I will continue to support the animal cause as I've always done, however, hope to save people and animals must also allow research and experiments exist. It is a challenge we face in the privacy and dignity. 
Hoping that these elements will be useful and still available,  

  Catherine SOULLE

MEP

catherine.soullie@europarl.europa.eu

A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its
recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed:

  agustin.diazdemeragarciaconsuegra@europarl.europa.eu

wow I just read your comments in FireBull and I see there is a problem with semi-colons -

I tell you what - I've been using a few mail providers from years and without any doubt - gmail is the best

you can send one email to up to 100 people at once - max to 500 per day to not be blocked as a spammer

and there are no problems with pasting email addresses - separated with comas, semicolons or empty places

I noticed also that I have much more bounced emails from yahoo mailbox than gmail 

I'm not sure about security but I don't think any other mailbox is better

I got the reply from:

Brian Simpson <briansimpson.labour@virgin.net>

You can count on my support for this and all animal welfare issues.

animal welfare issues from his site:

Bovine TB Close at Hand

Live Animal Transportation rules to be reviewed

If you will get any possitive replies please let me know I'll forward them to Caroline Lucas from UK Green party

Cc?

Dear Pam,

Thank you for your email regarding the revision of the Animal Testing Directive and for expressing your concern that many good animal welfare provisions were watered down by MEPs in the European Parliament.

This is a concern shared by myself and my Labour colleagues here in the European Parliament and we share your disappointment at the overall position adopted by the parliament back in May 2009. Regrettably Labour MEPs found themselves in a minority position on this dossier and were unable to prevent the European Parliament from overwhelmingly voting to water down many of the Commission's key animal welfare provisions

Of particular concern is the European Parliament's stance on diluting the requirement for prior authorisation of animal procedures, which I feel would significantly lower current levels of animal protection in the UK. I am equally concerned at the decision to put the brakes on moving European research away from its reliance on the capture of monkeys from the wild for breeding purposes. 

At the moment the dossier is out of the European Parliament's hands as it is now up to the Council of Ministers (where the 27 EU governments are represented) to come forward with a position. If the Council is unable to come to an agreement with the European Parliament's position then the dossier will come back to MEPs for a second reading, where we will get another chance to amend the legislation.

If and when the report comes back to the European Parliament I will certainly continue to fight for many of the important animal welfare provisions which you have mentioned in your correspondence and which I see as key to raising welfare standards across Europe.

Yours Sincerely,

Brian Simpson MEP

   Thank you for your e-mail concerning the European Union's policies on animal testing.

We at the UK Independence Party (UKIP) feel very strongly that proper measures need to be in place to protect animal rights. Indeed, the UKIP West Midlands MEP, Mike Nattrass, has already told Animnal Defenders International that:-

“I am totally against the use of primates or any other animals in experiments and will be voting against the revision of Directive 86/609 unless this includes a total ban on the use of primates in experiments.”

Source: http://www.ad-international.org/campaigns/go.php?id=1530

Thus, UKIP remains committed to animal rights. We have concerns that the EU is not the best agent for securing animal rights. EC Regulation 2006/1907 has led to the deaths of millions of animals in tests on products already known to be safe. Its policies such as the Common Fisheries Policy, have caused catastrophic ecological harm to life in the North Sea. Through its funding of farmers in Spain, the EU is causing the habitat of the Iberian Lynx, one of Europe's rarest mammals, to shrink.

We have concerns that a large number of animal rights groups are funded by the EU Commission. We are concerned that this may inhibit the forthright action groups need to take to hold the EU to account.

I hope that you find this reply helpful. Thank you for your letter, and thank you for taking a stand for something you believe in. The world needs more people like you. 

cont'd.

Yours sincerely,

Michael McManus

Office of David Campbell Bannerman MEP

Jacqueline Foster MEP

Conservative Spokesman - Transport and Tourism

Dear Anne,

Thank you for your email about the protection of animals used in experiments. As a Chair of the European Parliament’s Animal Welfare Intergroup I am campaigning to end all animal experimentation, which I believe is cruel, inefficient and outdated. The revision of Directive 86/609, the 'animal experiments directive' was an opportunity to ensure that a ban on the use of primates in research is included in the Directive, as well as to increase the extent to which researchers must justify decisions to use animals; improve enforcement of animal protection rules; and provide greater transparency.

So, I was deeply disappointed by the vote on the Directive in the European Parliament. The pharmaceutical industry has been proactively lobbying MEPs for some time now and the Agriculture Committee, leading on this legislative package, were especially susceptible. So, the text that came before plenary utterly failed to deliver any real benefits for animal protection and did not implement a ban on testing great apes. The text included no strategy for phasing out primate testing in general and the licensing regulations are a sham. As a result, I and my fellow Greens did not vote in favour of what we argue is nothing more than a betrayal of the millions of animals being kept in appalling conditions in laboratories. The Council of Ministers (representatives of each member state) are now considering their position and, sadly, it looks as if the final legislation will not do anything like enough to protect animals used in experiments.

My work on this issue in the Parliament has included submitting a number of written questions to the European Commission, including a recent series about the reason for delays to the review of Directive 86/609. You can read this via my website – www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk I have spoken at a number of events to outline ways in which animal testing in the EU can be replaced and the legislative steps needed to make this happen. Now that the European Parliament’s role in revising the EU Directive is complete I will be keeping up pressure on the UK government to back strong measures to protect animals and would urge you to also petition your MP.

Thank you for taking the time to raise this vitally important issue with me.

Yours sincerely,

Caroline Lucas – Green Party MEP for South East England.

Me better get to work ... for all you do and will start tonight.

Dear Ladies thank you so much

BUT

I deleted the replies which ARE NOT POSITIVE

the words they use are to make you think they care about animals what's NOT TRUE

positive reply needs their statement that they oppose the proposed draft directive - because the directive is BIG S>>>

and must be rejected by EU Council

YOU're lovely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

for more info look to StopAnimalExperiments group - I tried to explain it all

I'm sorry I can't be very usefull in other causes today

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP IN THE CAUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK to make you laughing the most stupid reply I got today:

NOT a positive reply - but I'm posting 'cos I feel like scratching his eyes out!

How can ANY human being state that "such suffering would be acceptable in my opinion"!!!

Received today NOT positive replys from Godfrey Bloom MEP (same as Pam)

and also NOT positive from:

Emma McClarkin MEP

Considering the number of mails sent out...I've received very few replys!!!

also not about positive reply ... another ???? from our favorite MEP Nigel Farage

http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/SAE

topic: Replace All Animal Experiments In Europe

Thank you for your email.  Animal welfare is an issue of great importance to me, and I am pleased to see MEPs are being pressed for commitments on such issues.

Regarding the Revision of EC Directive 86/609, I share your concern over the disappointing measures adopted. I am strongly in favour of promoting alternatives to animal testing, and I will be signing Written Declaration 53/2009, which calls for the European Commission to increase funding for alternative methods of testing. Unfortunately not all MEPs support such stringent measures,  but I will continue to press for the strictest animal welfare provisions in legislation.

I am a member of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals in the European Parliament, and through monthly meetings we meet experts in the field of animal welfare, raise awareness of welfare issues and work together in the Parliament to press for the strongest possible animal welfare provisions in current legislation. I also frequently formally ask the Commission to provide information on the implementation of animal welfare regulations, and I will continue to do so in all areas of animal welfare.

Thank you again for writing to me, and for campaigning for such an important issue.

Kind regards,

David

Thank you very much for your email to Andrew Brons.

Mr Brons agrees with the points you have made in this email and he will do
whatever he can to highlight this issue and contribute towards pushing
matters in the direction described.

He recently signed Written Declaration 0053/2009 calling on the European
Commission to provide funding for alternatives to animal research and he
will continue to support steps that aim to eradicating animal testing
altogether.

Thank you once again for contacting us about this important issue.

best wishes,

Cllr Chris Beverley
British National Party

On behalf of Andrew Brons MEP
PO Box 116, Leeds LS27 9WW
www.andrewbrons.eu