MEMBER of the European Parliament for South East England Sharon Bowles has given her support for a vote on banning certain types of animal testing.

The European Parliament will vote on Wednesday whether to ban testing on great apes and wild-caught primates.

If passed, new laws would limit testing to macaques and marmosets that have been bred and raised in captivity.

Ms Bowles, who campaigned for a ban on bear bile farming in the last parliament, said she would be voting for the ban.

She said the legislation would make it very difficult for laboratories to conduct experiments on wild-caught primates as simple genetic tests can determine whether it has been raised in captivity.