Re-homing of lab tested animals might become mandatory to save them from being put down

May 10, 2018

Politicians are considering bringing in the rule.

Politicians are considering whether to make the re-homing of lab tested animals mandatory to save them from being put down.

At the moment the re-homing of former research animals is left to ethics committees, but advocates now want to make it mandatory.

Campaigners say thousands of animals are needlessly killed every year.

In 2015, 225,310 animals were used in research in New Zealand and 88,200 of them died - but it's not clear how many were euthanised.

The other 137,110 lived - and were either kept by institutes, given to homes, or released into the wild.

MP's have been discussing it today, but are yet to make public their recommendation.

The Ministry for Primary Industries says while it likes the idea, it does not support a mandatory policy - saying the petition hasn't addressed the practicalities involved.

Politicians will report back on the issue in the next few days.

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