Research bodies disappointed by decision to cancel primate research laboratory

Research organisations in the United Kingdom expressed concern about the future of neuroscience research requiring primate experimentation after the University of Cambridge announced last week that it had decided not to proceed with plans for a neuroscience research centre.

The University of Cambridge said that it would not continue with plans for a primate research centre because protests by animal rights campaigners had increased the costs of maintaining security.

Professor Colin Blakemore, chief executive of the Medical Research Council, said: “We must make sure that pressure and threats from a tiny minority of protestors do not impede research that is vital in the hunt for treatments and cures for terrible illnesses.”

He pointed out that a recent MORI survey showed that 90% of the general public accepted research involving animals as long as it was for medical research purposes, …