Far too many animals are still being used in pointless experiments based on entrenched and old fashioned approaches. That is the view of FRAME, the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments.
In spite of developments in many areas of research that could lead to the use of fewer animals, the numbers published by the Home Office continue to rise each year.
FRAME chairman, Prof. Michael Balls, says: “It is shameful that the number of procedures conducted in the UK in 2008 was higher than that in 1987, when the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 came into force.”
In the latest edition of the charity’s scientific journal ATLA (Alternatives to Laboratory Animals), he reviews articles from the charity’s 40th anniversary year in 2009 and cites authors who discussed concepts that would help reduce animal use, such as “changing the mindset”, “a clinical trial in a test tube”, “avoiding drug development mistakes early”, and “the best model for humans is human”.
He warns that continued resistance to change and insistence on using traditional animal models is preventing more-relevant, more-humane tests from gaining acceptance.
“The failure of the scientific community in general to improve the quality of the science through better experimental design and statistical analysis, whilst at the same time contributing to a steady and continuing fall in the numbers of procedures on laboratory animals, continues to be very disappointing.“
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