Refining Animal Experiments: The First Brazilian Regulation on Animal Experimentation

Abstract

The very first law on animal experimentation has been approved recently in Brazil, and now is part of a set of the legal instruments that profile the Brazilian government's attitude toward the use of animals in experiments. Law 11794/08 establishes a new legal instrument that will guide new methods of conduct for ethics committees, researchers and representatives of animal protection societies. This comment aims to analyse critically the implications that this law brings to Brazilian reality. The link between it and the Russell & Burch's Three Rs concept is defined, and certain problems are identified. The conclusion is that the body of the law emphasises the refinement of animal experiments, but gives little importance to the principles of reduction and replacement.

A Survey of Knowledge of the Three Rs Concept among Lecturers and Postgraduate Students in Brazil

“…Data from this research indicates that the Three Rs concept put forward by Russell and Burch is widespread among lecturers and students in the areas of physiology and pharmacology throughout Brazilian universities, but its interpretation generally attributes more importance to refinement than to reduction and replacement. This result is consistent with the analysis of the Brazilian law that regulates animal experiments, which "emphasises the refinement of animal experiments, but gives little importance to the principles of reduction and replacement" (19).…”

Perceptions of animal experimentation: a longitudinal survey with veterinary students in Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil

“…Currently in Brazil there is a growing concern regarding the use of animals in experiments, and several authors have been discussing this topic, especially in the view of the Brazilian federal law #11794/08 (d'Acampora et al 2009;Marques, Morales, and Petroianu 2009;Tréz 2010;Filipecki et al 2011). However, studies reporting people's feelings towards this subject are lacking.…”

ATLA — A Truly International Journal

“…With the coming into effect of the EU Cosmetics Directive, 2 which imposed a marketing ban within the EU of any cosmetics ingredients or finished products that have been tested on animals, the interest of non-EU countries in the use of alternatives has, no doubt, increased considerably. Indeed, the admirable progress which has been made by many 'developing' countries in terms of their attitudes and legislation on the ethical use of animals in experiments has been documented in a number of papers recently published in ATLA (see, for example, Izmirli et al in this current issue, 3 as well as Lee et al, 4 Tréz, 5 and Kong & Qin, 6 in other recent issues). We feel that the information provided by these particular papers is, to a large extent, a two-way street, in that the authors can present to the rest of the world the status of animal experimentation and alternatives in their country (which can often be a complete revelation to 'outsiders'), and, in the other direction, the article can serve to facilitate collaboration between the authors and one or more of our readers in the West, who would undoubtedly have relevant expertise and valuable knowledge to share with members of countries whose Three Rs policies are still in their infancy.…”