Hutchinson Isobel, Owen Carla, Bailey Jarrod
Animal Free Research UK, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX, UK.
Animals (Basel). 2022 May 3;12(9):1173. doi: 10.3390/ani12091173.
In the context of widespread public and political concern around the use of animals in research, we sought to examine the scientific, ethical and economic arguments around the replacement of animals with New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) and to situate this within a regulatory context. We also analyzed the extent to which animal replacement aligns with British public and policymakers' priorities and explored global progress towards this outcome. The global context is especially relevant given the international nature of regulatory guidance on the safety testing of new medicines. We used a range of evidence to analyze this area, including scientific papers; expert economic analysis; public opinion polls and the Hansard of the UK Parliament. We found evidence indicating that replacing animals with NAMs would benefit animal welfare, public health and the economy. The majority of the British public is in favor of efforts to replace animals and focusing on this area would help to support the British Government's current policy priorities. We believe that this evidence underlines the need for strong action from policymakers to accelerate the transition from animal experiments to NAMs. The specific measure we suggest is to introduce a new ministerial position to coordinate and accelerate the replacement of animals with NAMs.
在公众和政治界广泛关注动物用于研究的背景下，我们试图审视围绕用新方法（NAMs）替代动物的科学、伦理和经济论据，并将其置于监管背景中。我们还分析了动物替代在多大程度上符合英国公众和政策制定者的优先事项，并探讨了在这方面的全球进展。鉴于新药安全测试监管指南的国际性质，全球背景尤为相关。我们使用了一系列证据来分析这一领域，包括科学论文、专家经济分析、民意调查以及英国议会的议会议事录。我们发现有证据表明，用新方法替代动物将有利于动物福利、公众健康和经济。大多数英国公众支持替代动物的努力，关注这一领域将有助于支持英国政府当前的政策优先事项。我们认为，这一证据凸显了政策制定者采取有力行动以加速从动物实验向新方法过渡的必要性。我们建议的具体措施是设立一个新的部长级职位，以协调并加速用新方法替代动物的进程。
