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IACUC of iCONM held an animal welfare lecture
On March 11, IACUC of iCONM held a lecture meeting about animal welfare. This lecture is held once a year as educational training for researchers, staff, and facility users engaged in animal experiments at iCONM.
For this eighth lecture, we invited Dr. Saed Abbasi, a former iCONM researcher who is currently a Research Associate at Johns Hopkins University in the United States. He spoke about the comparison of laws and regulations governing animal experimentation and the care and management of laboratory animals in the United States and Japan, introduced the institutional regulations at Johns Hopkins University, and discussed the latest trends in alternative methods to animal testing in the United States.
In the United States, awareness of animal welfare is higher than in Japan, and various studies and initiatives are being undertaken to implement the 3Rs principle* in the scientific use of animals. Dr. Abbasi, who has been involved in animal research in both the United States and Japan, pointed out some areas where iCONM's efforts are insufficient, which was very enlightening. Researchers were particularly interested in alternatives to animal testing, and there was a lively question and answer session.
* The 3Rs Principle: An internationally established principle for the proper care and use of laboratory animals and the optimization of animal experimentation. It refers to: ① Replacement (using alternatives), ② Reduction (minimizing the number used), and ③ Refinement (reducing suffering).
(From the Ministry of the Environment pamphlet “Promoting the Proper Care and Management of Laboratory Animals”)
