 |
|
| Millions of animals are harmed or killed each year during safety tests for everything from mascara to motor oil. ©iStock.com |
|
A recently announced collaboration between the United States, Canada, Japan and the European Union could help limit the number of rabbits, mice, dogs and other animals used to test consumer products and industrial chemicals.
The nations have agreed to "promote consistent and enhanced voluntary international cooperation, collaboration, and communication" among government agencies tasked with approving humane testing methods to replace conventional animal tests.
Collaborating for Animals
The new partnership, called the International Cooperation on Alternative Test Methods (ICATM), aims to better coordinate and encourage international buy-in to 1) studies designed to demonstrate the advantages of new alternative methods, 2) independent reviews of such "validation" studies, 3) conclusions and recommendations as to the usefulness of alternative methods as a means to replace, reduce or refine animal use, 4) work toward increased efficiency and effectiveness by avoiding duplication of efforts and maximizing limited resources, and 5) support timely international adoption of alternative methods.
The need for ICATM became evident during transatlantic economic cooperation discussions in 2007-08, which highlighted a number of cases in which alternative methods were being accepted and used in Europe but not in the U.S., despite having gone through extensive validation studies.
Although ICATM recommendations will not be binding on any country, it is hoped that the new collaboration will yield positive results for animals. More details are outlined in the memorandum of cooperation.
Deadly Tests
Worldwide, millions of animals are harmed or killed each year during safety (or "toxicity") testing for everything from mascara to motor oil. Some tests require that hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of animals are used to test a single chemical.
During the tests, the animals are either forced to swallow or inhale a chemical, or have the substance put in their eye or on their shaved skin. The aim of these crude procedures is to determine how harmful or safe a chemical is for human use.
Advanced Alternatives
The new alternative tests use fewer animals per test ("reduction alternatives"), cause relatively less suffering ("refinement alternatives"), or do away with animal use altogether ("replacement alternatives"). Besides being the most humane, replacement alternatives have the added advantage of being cheaper, faster, and more technologically sophisticated than their animal-based counterparts.
For example, some methods have partially or fully replaced the use of animals in testing the potential of products or chemicals to cause skin irritation, skin corrosion, and "pyrogenicity" (fever in response to an injection of potentially contaminated intravenous solutions).
Potential for Progress
Alternative tests are typically evaluated country-by-country, or even sector-by-sector (e.g. chemicals, drugs, vaccines)—a difficult and time-consuming route to international acceptance. In the U.S., the responsibility for evaluating new test methods that have relevance to multiple government agencies falls to the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM).
By agreeing to share information on alternative methods, it is hoped that ICCVAM and its counterparts in Canada, Europe, and Japan will streamline the international evaluation of new alternative methods, thus speeding up the acceptance process and potentially saving millions of animals' lives.
