A petition boasting more than 37,000 signatures against the use of animal testing in the development of legal highs has been delivered to Parliament.
Green Party MP Mojo Mathers received the petition, with signatures collected by the SPCA, SAFE and the New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society.
Another 23,000 signatures have been collected online.
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The petition calls for the Psychoactive Substances Bill to include a ban on animals being used to trial legal highs.
The bill has had its first round of submissions heard by the Health Select Committee and a report will be presented to Parliament next month.
Submissions did not include the issue of animal testing because Committee chairperson Paul Hutchison did not allow it.
Ms Mathers says the Committee missed an opportunity to make a stand against the issue.
"The MPs considering the Bill have been told they can’t look at animal testing; that’s not right," she says.
“We need a world-class safety testing regime, but we do not want cruel and unnecessary animal testing to be a part of that."
SAFE director Hans Kriek says there is significant and unnecessary suffering for animals in the process of drug testing and that should be outlawed.
"There is no way an amendment to the Animal Welfare Act can do that as it only covers testing carried out in New Zealand," he says.
Ms Mathers and Mr Kriek were joined at Parliament by numerous dogs, including some that were rescued from a drug-testing laboratory last year.
3 News
source: newshub archive
