Replacing animal use in education and training.

In the USA, the general public want the use of animals in medical training to cease, but, at least in Australia, some teachers want it to continue, even when effective non-animal alternatives are available.

Exploring the use of alternatives to animals in undergraduate education in Australia.

The replacement, reduction and refinement of animal use in education is part of the regulatory legislation in Australia, and requires the use of alternatives to animals where appropriate. The aims of this study were: a) to explore the extent of the replacement of animals when teaching life sciences to Australian undergraduate students; b) to understand which alternative models were being used, and the learning objectives covered; and c) to gain some insight into the circumstances facilitating the use of alternatives to animals in education. An anonymous online survey, consisting of open and closed questions, was conducted among faculty members that used either animal or alternative models in their teaching. A total of 27 faculty members participated, from eight universities. Human anatomy and physiology had the highest number of survey participants who had replaced animals entirely with alternative models. These subjects also had the highest number of participants that were using animal models. According to the participants, most learning objectives were met effectively by both types of model. Participants who only used alternatives were influenced by ethical considerations significantly more than those who used animal models and alternatives. We concluded that, while some participants have replaced animals successfully, others in the same field are still employing them, and that there appears to be a range of barriers to the wider adoption of alternatives to animal use.

The FRAME Reduction Steering Committee: reflections on a decade devoted to reducing animal use in biomedical science.

Established in 1998, the FRAME Reduction Committee (FRC) (now the FRAME Reduction Steering Committee [FRSC]) has continued to pursue its aim of reducing the number of animals used in biomedical science. Through its expertise in statistics, experimental design, animal welfare and research on alternatives, it has contributed to raising awareness of the need for reduction and the means of achieving and demonstrating it. In recognising the need for training of scientists to appreciate and understand the concept of reduction, the FRSC has organised dedicated workshops and training schools. Some of the Committee's major achievements are described, and, bearing in mind the current year-on-year increases in the number of scientific procedures on animals, its future activities are outlined.

More is less: reducing animal use by raising awareness of the principles of efficient study design and analysis.

Good experimental design and the appropriate use of statistical tests form the corner stone of high-quality scientific research. This is especially important when the experiments involve the use of laboratory animals, to ensure that their use is appropriate and that the minimum number of animals will be used that will provide data which are sufficiently statistically-sound to meet the objectives of the study. One way to raise awareness of the importance of efficient study design and analysis is to provide training courses. This paper reports the views of participants at two such training schools, with reference to why they felt that attendance was necessary and how effective they felt the experience had been. The implications of the responses are discussed, and considerations for future training events are noted.

Searching and review on the Three Rs information in Korea: time for quality assessment and continued education.

Scientists planning research that involves the use of animals are required by international and/or national law to examine the possibilities for the implementation of Replacement, Reduction and/or Refinement (the Three Rs principles of Russell and Burch) in experiments for research, testing, and education. There are two Korean laws legislating humane use of animals and ethical review prior to animal experiments. This report reviews current practice of the literature search by the researchers and protocol review by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees on the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement alternatives in Korea. The promotion and protection of the laboratory animals are one of the core competencies of investigators exploring the ethical conduct of research and good science.

Alternativas a los animales de laboratorio en la docencia / Alternatives to laboraroty animals in education

En este artículo se hace una revisión sobre la utilización de animales y de métodos alternativos en docencia y se constata que todavía se siguen utilizando animales, a pesar de los avances tecnológicos que permiten cada vez métodos mejores y más efectivos para reemplazar a los animales en las prácticas docentes. Así mismo se analizan las ventajas y las limitaciones que pueden presentar estos métodos y se hace una revisión bibliográfica de los últimos artículos publicados en este sentido. A pesar, de existir muchos docentes que utilizan métodos alternativos, no existen demasiados artículos que nos informen de la situación de las alternativas ni tampoco de los beneficios que aportan a los estudiantes (AU)

This paper is a review on the use of laboratory animals and alternatives methods in education. Laboratory animals are still used despite technological advances that allow better alternative methods and more effectives to replace animals in laboratory practices. Moreover, we analyze the advantages and limitations of these alternative methods and we review the literature of the last years in this field. Although, there are many teachers who use alternative methods, there are not too many papers giving information about the real situation of alternatives neither the benefits for students (AU)