The genetic modification of animals for medical research or drug development is seen as a necessary evil.
Lord Drayson called on the government to work with the transport industry to get agreement that all transport companies will support importing animals for scientific research so "people can not be picked off".
Though he still runs licensed hunting trips in conjunction with the Canadian national parks agency, he traps animals mostly for ecological research and monitoring projects.
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, a group that acts as a rallying point for extremists, sets up stalls in shopping malls with pictures of mangled animals and petitions to sign calling for an end to research using animals.
For example, several of her children believe that animals should not be used for medical research, one of Ann's biggest causes.
He said there was support among "the great majority of the public" for medical research using animals as well as a "revolution" in reproductive medicine made by such research.
Professor Aziz has been working on the brain for decades and is a strong proponent of primate research, having used these animals to develop treatments for neurological diseases such as Parkinson's.
Scientists are warning that a new campaign by animal rights activists, aimed at the companies involved in the transport of laboratory animals, threatens to undermine research into new cures and treatments for disease.
Most animals are killed (painlessly) when the research they are being used for is finished.
Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, geneticist at the National Institute for Medical Research, said that in reality the number of imported animals such as mice that are used in research is very small because a pair are bred when they are brought into a lab.
The guidelines also specify areas of research that do not qualify for NIH funding, such as cloning of animals and humans.
In January 2006 Laurie Pycroft started a group in defence of vivisection for medical research, Pro-Test, to counter those who believe that animals have rights equal to those of humans.
Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, a geneticist at the National Institute for Medical Research, told the BBC it was vital scientists were able to import animals, so they could collaborate with colleagues abroad.
Since then, the only way to see a panda in the Sichuan province has been to visit the Chengdu Panda Reserve -- one of the most important international centres for panda research -- which provides a fantastic opportunity to get up close to the animals and watch them chomping down on bamboo and play fighting.
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