ATLA::Alternatives to Laboratory Animals

Volume 27, Supplement 1

A proposal for a new ethical scheme addressing the use of laboratory animals for biomedical purposes.

ATLA 27, 869-881, November 1999

Véronique C. Delpire,¹ T. Ben Mepham² and Michael Balls¹

¹ECVAM, Institute of Health and Consumer Protection, 21020 Ispra (VA), Italy; ²Centre for Applied Bioethics, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK

SUMMARY

Current European Union legislation relating to the use of laboratory animals, such as Directive 86/609/EEC, was implemented before the full implications of transgenesis were recognized. An analysis of selected existing cost-benefit guidelines has shown that they do not provide for an adequate evaluation of the use of transgenic animals. In this paper, a proposal is made for a new ethical scheme, comprising a specific cluster of questions dealing with transgenic animals and the wider implications of their use. It is suggested that this scheme could be used at the European level in reviewing project proposals involving animal experimentation.

Keywords: transgenic animals, ethical scheme, Three Rs, animal welfare