The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing is an academic center affiliated with the Division of Toxicological Sciences in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Proceedings for CAAT 20th Anniversary Symposium

Alternative Programs in Europe

Coenraad F.M. Hendriksen
Netherlands Centre for Alternatives to Animal Use

The European policy on the use of laboratory animals is anchored in Council Directive 86/609/EEC of the European Commission1. This Directive strongly emphasizes the development, validation and implementation of 3Rs alternatives at the Commission level and in the Member State of the European Union. The establishment of several national centres on alternatives, and in particular the establishment in 1993 of the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) has been one of the outcomes. ECVAM has played a leading role in setting up criteria for science-based validation studies. In addition, the centre has been and still is involved in a number of validation studies. A summary of ECVAM's activities will be presented. Attention will be given to the proposed EU ban on the use of animals for cosmetic testing. This field represents about 0.3% of the total use of laboratory animals in Europe.

However, this presentation will focus on 3Rs activities that are being performed in relation to the 99.7% of the animals that are used for other purposes. Information will be provided on issues such as: the Biological Standardisation Programme of the European Pharmacopoeia; the Multilateral Consultation of the Council of Europe on the housing of laboratory animals; the development and implementation of the 3Rs in research and education and the statement of the European Science Foundation on the use of laboratory animals in research. Furthermore, this presentation will address the recently established European Consensus Platform for Alternatives (ECOPA).

It is concluded that, although the individual Member States of the EU have all ratified Council Directive 86/609/EEC, cultural differences exist between the Member States with regard to animal welfare concerns and 3Rs policies. The production of monoclonal antibodies by the in vivo ascites method and the implementation of in vitro technology will be presented as examples.

1 Council Directive 86/609/EEC on the Approximation of Laws, Regulations and Administrative Provisions of the Member States Regarding the Protection of Animals Used for Experimental and other Scientific Purposes. Official Journal of the European Communities; 1986 Series L, no. 358: 1-28.