Brazil starts to ban animal use in higher education: A positive and progressive development.

The Brazilian government has published a resolution that bans animal use in some practical classes within undergraduate and high school technical education from April 2019. Resolution No. 38/2018, issued by the National Council for the Control of Animal Experimentation (CONCEA), bans the killing of animals for dissection purposes and animal experiments in practical classes that do not involve the acquisition of new skills. The initial call for the ban was by the Brazilian Network for Humane Education (RedEH), an independent body comprising Brazilian professors and international collaborators dedicated to the implementation of replacement alternatives in education. The call was supported by InterNICHE, and many professors and other international organisations. The Brazilian Council of Veterinary Medicine, which is responsible for regulating the veterinary profession in Brazil, also stated its support for humane education and for the ban. The call was the first formal request, and it eventually led to the first legal resolution for the replacement of animal use in education in Brazil. This represents an important historic landmark in the advancement of science education.

On the journey toward humane education in Brazil: First request for a total ban of harmful animal use in professional and higher education.

The Brazilian Network for Humane Education (RedEH( is an independent and self-managed group comprised of academics from ten different Brazilian states and a number of international collaborators. In 2016, in a concerted effort to change the educational field in Brazil and propagate humane education, RedEH sent a request to the Brazilian National Council for the Control of Animal Experimentation (CONCEA(, asking that harmful animal use in education in professional and undergraduate courses be banned. This was the first formal request for a total replacement of harmful animal use in education in Brazil, and represented a major historic landmark in the advancement of Brazilian science education. This paper presents the full text of the request, as well as outlining its national and international repercussions. The request was supported by InterNICHE and representatives of 18 other international organisations. A major national impact of the request was its recognition by the Federal Council of Veterinary Medicine. With this action, academics and researchers took a potentially revolutionary step in the Brazilian education arena, with regard to advancing and supporting a higher quality, ethical and democratic educational system.

Progesterone production in superovulated holstein heifers and in crossbred recipient of embryo supplemented with betacarotene and tocopherol / Produção de progesterona em novilhas Holandesas superovuladas e receptoras de embrião mestiças suplementadas com betacaroteno e tocoferol

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of the intramuscular injection of betacarotene associated to tocopherol on the plasma concentration progesterone of superovulated Holstein heifers (experiment 1) and in crossbred (Bos taurus x Bos indicus) heifers submitted to fixed-time embryo transfer (FTET, experiment 2). In experiment 1, after estrus synchronization and superovulation animals were inseminated 12 and 24 hours after estrus onset and embryos flushed 7 days later. Heifers were allocated randomly to one of three treatments: Control; T800 (800 mg of betacarotene plus 500 mg of tocopherol) and T1200 (1,200 mg of betacarotene plus 750 mg of tocopherol). The treatments were given on the day of ear implant placement and repeated on the first day of superovulation. Blood samples were collected on D0, D5, D9, D12 and D16. In experiment 2, treatments were imposed at intravaginal device insertion (D0). The same experimental design, as in experiment 1, was used. Blood samples were collected on D17 (embryos implanted) for progesterone determination by radioimmunoassay. In experiment 1, average plasma progesterone concentrations after corpora lutea formation (D12 plus D16 means) were 13.7±1.8 ng/ml, 14.5±2.3 ng/ml and 10.8±2.3 ng/ml for control, T800 and T1200, respectively, and did not differ (P=0.44). In experiment 2, progesterone concentrations on D17 in Control (8.88±0.57 ng/ml), T800 (7.48±0.64 ng/ml) and T1200 (5.90±1.33 ng/ml) groups were similar (P=0.11). Results indicate that the supplemental betacarotene and tocopherol injections did not influence peripheral progesterone concentrations in superovulated Holstein donors and crossbreed recipients heifers.

Dois experimentos foram conduzidos para avaliar o efeito da injeção intramuscular de betacaroteno associada ao tocoferol, na concentração plasmática de progesterona de novilhas Holandesas superovuladas (Experimento 1) e em novilhas cruzadas (Bos taurus x Bos indicus) submetidas à transferência embrionária em tempo fixo (TETF, experimento 2). No experimento 1, após a sincronização do estro e superovulação, os animais foram inseminados entre 12 a 24 h após o início do estro e os embriões recuperados após 7 dias. As novilhas foram divididas, aleatoriamente, em 1 de 3 tratamentos: Controle (duas injeções de soro); T800 (800 mg de betacaroteno mais 500 mg de tocoferol) e T1200 (1.200 mg de betacaroteno mais 750 mg de tocoferol). Os tratamentos foram administrados no dia da colocação do implante de progesterona e repetido no primeiro dia da superovulação. As colheitas de sangue foram realizadas no D0, D5, D9, D12 e D16. No experimento 2, os tratamentos foram realizados no momento da inserção do dispositivo de progesterona (D0). Utilizou-se o mesmo delineamento do experimento 1. A colheita de sangue para a determinação da progesterona por radioimunoensaio foi realizada no D17 (inovulação embrionária). No experimento 1, a concentração plasmática média, após formação do corpo lúteo (média da soma de D12 com D16) foi de 13,7±1,8 ng/ml, 14,5±2,3 ng/ml e 10,8±2,3 ng/ml para os grupos Controle, T800 e T1200, respectivamente, e não diferiram (P=0,44) entre os tratamentos. No experimento 2, a concentração de progesterona nas receptoras, no dia 17, foi semelhante (P=0,11) entre os grupos controle (8,88±0,57 ng/ml), T800 (7,48±0,64 ng/ml) e T1200 (5,90±1,33 ng/ml). Os resultados indicaram que as injeções de suplemento com betacaroteno e tocoferol não influenciaram na concentração plasmática de progesterona em novilhas Holandesas doadoras de embriões e em novilhas cruzadas, receptoras de embrião.