Chapter 1.1 - The Introduction and Influence of the Concept of Humane Experimental Technique

Abstract

Since its publication in 1959, The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique, by Russell and Burch, which introduced the concept of the Three Rs (Reduction, Refinement and Replacement), has had a profound effect on attitudes, laws and practices related to the use of laboratory animals in education, research and testing. The search for more-relevant and more-reliable non-animal alternative procedures for predicting the potential hazards to humans represented by chemicals and cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other products gained momentum in the 1970s, initially led by the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME) in the UK, later joined, in particular, by the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) in the USA, the Center for Documentation and Evaluation of Alternative Methods to Animal Experiments (ZEBET) in Germany and the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) in Italy. The replacement of animal tests by alternative procedures and testing strategies is now the focus of scientific, political and administrative effort throughout the world.