Description |
Laboratory animals are used for regulatory testing to assess the safety, efficacy, and/or potential adverse health effects of new chemicals and products such as vaccines, medicines, food additives, pesticides, and industrial chemicals. Testing results are used for risk assessment decisions intended to safeguard human and animal health. However, chemical toxicity and vaccine testing can cause injury, disease, and mortality involving significant pain and distress. Alleviation of pain and distress in animals during testing is problematic because regulations allow treatment only if the treatment does not interfere with the study. [...] Further progress in reducing animal pain and distress resulting from regulatory testing is expected as scientific and technological advances are incorporated into testing procedures and strategies. |