Goal is to reduce animal tests by half, says Potocnik
Europe should work harder at developing alternatives to animal testing and aim to reduce the number of animals used by half, EU Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik told a conference on 18 December. The Commissioner was responding to the very recent adoption of the REACH chemicals legislation, which will increase the number of animals used for testing in an attempt to guarantee that chemicals available in the market place and used in the manufacture of consumer products do not harm human health. It has recently been found that REACH will involve more animals than originally estimated. 'This just makes me even more determined to speed up our work in this area, so that we can reduce these numbers by as much as half,' Mr Potocnik told a European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA) conference in Brussels. Mr Potocnik told his audience that many of the things that we today take for granted would not have been possible without observing animals or using them in experiments. He gave air travel, electricity and penicillin as examples. 'Our understanding of certain diseases and our ability to treat them can also be traced to animal testing, and testing potentially dangerous substances on animals has meant that human lives have been saved,' said Mr Potocnik. But times have changed, and society is questioning whether or not animal suffering for science can be justified. The EU has adapted its policies accordingly, deciding in 2003 to ban the testing of cosmetics on animals from 2009. The Commission also launched a consultation on the welfare of laboratory animals in June 2006. The results are due early in 2007. 'But the question remains - how can we protect Europe's people from the harmful effects of certain substances or continue to develop our understanding and treatment of disease?' asked the Commissioner. 'If not THE answer, certainly AN answer lies in the development of alternatives to animal testing,' he suggested. Problems hindering the development of alternatives include the scientific complexity of some of the issues involved, and the reluctance of some regulatory bodies to recognise alternative methods. The EU is however ploughing on. The European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) is playing a leading role in getting alternative methods tested, validated and accepted. 'We certainly intend to continue and indeed increase this type of work within the new Framework Programme [for research], which will come on stream in just a few days from now,' said Mr Potocnik. The Commissioner concluded with a reference to the three 'R's usually mentioned in conjunction with animal testing - refinement, reduction and replacement. He then proposed two new 'R's, which, he believes, are equally important if Europe is to achieve its objectives. 'Reliability' is one, and 'research' the other. 'I can assure you of my firm commitment, and that of the European Commission, to research that will develop reliable alternatives so we can refine, replace and reduce animal testing in the future,' Mr Potocnik pledged.