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This petition was submitted during the 2019 to 2024 Parliament

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Closed petition Abolish ASPA Section 24, the secrecy clause for animals used in UK laboratories.

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Six years after the Government undertook a public consultation review of Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the results are yet to be published. Animals continue to suffer and be subjected to inhumane procedures in UK labs, shielded from public scrutiny by this clause.

Section 24 contradicts the UK’s right to freedom of information and is at odds with commitments to transparency and public accountability within EU Directive 2010/63 on animals in research. Its repeal was widely supported by the House of Lords Select Committee and Animal Procedures Committee. Only abolition will allow public bodies access to challenge licences and decrease the unnecessary suffering of animals in the name of research.

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    This petition will stay open until 5 February 2021.