The French MP, Cédric Villani, has recently visited animal facilities at the University of Strasbourg, as its guest, in conjunction with CNRS and Inserm and the support of GIRCOR, the French animal research advocacy organisation.
On the visit, which was filmed by GIRCOR and published on YouTube, he listened to a presentation on the use of zebrafish in autism research and toured the Institut Clinique de la Souris, meeting with scientists. Villani then visited the university’s Center for Primatology (SILABE), where he saw the facilities for the macaques.
At the end of these visits, he underlined the importance of inspections and external scrutiny, and he particularly noted the dedication of the professionals with whom he met.
Villani is MP for Essonne and President of the Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Choices (OPECST). He chaired a public hearing on animal research and alternatives in 2019, leading to a report, which recommended developing biomonitoring and epidemiological studies via big data; artificial intelligence algorithms; the publication of negative results; and training in ethics and animal welfare in the university curriculum.