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| © The HSUS |
| HSI/HSUS representatives at the OECD meeting. |
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)/ Humane Society International (HSI) is a founding member of the International Councils on Animal Protection in OECD and Pharmaceutical Programs (ICAPO and ICAPPP).
ICAPO and ICAPPP are umbrella associations through which animal protection organisations interact with global chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers and regulators who meet under the auspices of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH), and the Veterinary International Co-operation on Harmonosation (VICH).
All three entities publish influential test guidelines, which currently rely heavily on inhumane and outdated animal-based methods. Through ICAPO and ICAPPP, the Humane Society seeks to promote a transition to alternative methods and testing strategies that replace, reduce or refine animal use.
The OECD is an economic alliance of 30 countries that works to promote international consistency in many areas, including the testing, labeling, and regulation of chemicals. Since 2002, ICAPO has been recognised as an “invited expert” in OECD programmes, alongside stakeholders representing business, labour and environmental interests. ICAPO’s main focal areas include the OECD Test Guidelines and Existing Chemicals Programmes, which include activities to evaluate the safety of “high production volume” and potential “endocrine disrupting” chemicals and ultra-small nanomaterials, as well as to assess the validity of computerised structure-activity relationship (SAR) models and other new technologies as alternatives to animal testing. The HSUS/HSI served as ICAPO secretariat during its first three years of existence, and has contributed to a number of significant animal welfare advances at the OECD, including the development of international guidance guidance test method validation and regulatory acceptance, the adoption of the first internationally validated in vitro tests, and the deletion of the antiquated oral LD50 test.
The ICH and VICH are trilateral dialogue groups that bring together government regulators and national industry associations from the three main international pharmaceutical markets—Europe, Japan and the United States—to work towards international harmonisation of requirements and approaches to testing human and veterinary medicines to ensure their safety, effectiveness and quality. Due to the decentralised structure through which ICH and VICH operate, interactions with ICAPPP occur predominantly at the regional level between regulatory or industry bodies in the EU, US and Japan and ICAPPP member groups in those regions (e.g., ICAPPP has been granted “interested party” status by the European Medicines Agency). Through these forums, ICAPPP seeks to promote the development and/or revision of test guidelines to fully incorporate alternative methods that replace, reduce and refine animal use.
Other ICAPO/ICAPPP member organisations include the following:
- Animal Alliance of Canada
- British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection
- Doris Day Animal League
- Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research
- Eurogroup for Animals
- European Coalition to End Animal Experiments
- Japan Anti-Vivisection Association
- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
- Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Updated March 15, 2009
