Companies Endorse Alternatives Initiative Experts from multi-national companies such as AstraZeneca, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and L’Oreal, have signed on to a European initiative to move towards ending the use of animals in research and safety testing. The AXLR8 initiative aims to monitor and coordinate investigation of 3R methods (refinement, reduction, and replacement of animal use), so they can be swiftly accepted by industry and regulatory agencies. In a written report, the companies state, “Today we are at a new biological milestone, where we could— with sufficient international and political support…produce the means and the technology to test and assess the human and environmental risk of tens of thousands of chemicals per year without using animals.” The report asserts that the traditional way of testing chemicals can take up to five years per substance, cost the equivalent of $3.9 million, and involve 800 small animals such as rats, mice, or guinea pigs. On the other hand, non-animal alternatives could test 350 substances in less than a week for a fraction of the cost. Some examples noted in the report include robotic screening of drugs, computer programs that can predict a drug’s effect, and embryonic stem cells that can be used to create human tissue. Troy Seidle, of Humane Society International, and Associate Coordinator of the AXLR8 consortium said, “This is the first step towards a road map that will see the phasing out of the use of animals in safety testing. The fact that industry is prepared to come to the table to meet with regulators and say they are prepared to do development, invest resources, and change the way we do things shows this is a real possibility, that [it] is not just pie in the sky.”
Canadian Animal Use Statistics The Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) has released the results of its 2009 survey of animal use. Unfortunately, the report shows a notable increase in the total number of animals used (3,375,027 in 2009 up from 2,272,816 in 2008). This increase is, for the most part, due to a rise in the number of fish who were used in experiments. In the past year, fish numbers have increased threefold, mainly for aquaculture studies, which include investigating ways to raise fish on farms for human consumption. This puts 2009 at an all-time high for the total number of animals used in scientific studies in Canada. Fish, birds, rats, and mice made up 90 percent of all animals used in Canada in 2009. It is likely similar in the U.S., which does not keep track of fish or birds, rats, and mice, bred for research because these animals are not covered under the U.S. Animal Welfare Act. The number of non-human primates used in Canada decreased by about 20 percent, and the majority of these animals were used for regulatory testing to determine the safety of products. Again, a notable difference between Canadian and U.S. reporting is that the U.S. does not document the industries animals are used in. The use of cats increased significantly by 27 percent, the majority of whom were used for educational purposes. In addition, dog use increased six percent, with about one-third being utilized for teaching. The majority of all dogs and cats were acquired from random sources, meaning they were not purposely bred for research and, therefore, may have been former pets. Other species mentioned in the report include: frogs (71,160), ferrets (716), chickens (81,652), seals (661), rabbits (8,333), chinchillas (147), and turtles (5,237). The number and species of animals are compelling, considering this is just one country alone. AV Magazine
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