Regulatory frameworks for animal research – best practices and challenges
Replace. Reduce. Refine.
This is one of the key guidelines that have to be considered when conducting animal experiments. In the EKFZ Academy course “Regulatory frameworks for animal research – best practices and challenges”, workshop participants were guided through the legal regulations and ethical justifications for animal experiments. Prof. Dr. Rabea Hinkel, Head of the Laboratory Animal Science Unit at the German Primate Center, provided valuable insights into the long-standing breeding program of the German Primate Center and shed a light on the regulatory requirements for experiments with primates. Furthermore, our veterinarians Jana Sie and Dr. Ramona Brecht gave important tips for writing a successful animal experiment application and discussed new approaches to replace animal research.
The key takeaways from the workshop were:
• When conducting animal experiments, no one may cause an animal pain, suffering or harm without good reason.
• A successful application has to include a short, knowledge-based description of the scientific problem, methods and techniques, anesthesia and analgesia as well as a scientific justification for the estimated number of animals.
• Always plan your animal experiment application in time and in collaboration with the responsible veterinarians.
We sincerely thank all speakers for their excellent and informative presentations as well as the German Primate Center for providing inspiring insights into their work!
©Photo of the baboons: German Primate Center
