| Description |
The animal experiment is central to the 3R concept. In Euro p e a n l a w, animal experiments are classed according to their aims. In the German Animal We l f a re Act, they are classed, e. g. as interventions and treatments for experimental purposes, for further education and tra i n i n g, or for the production, pre p a ration, storage or multiplication of substances, products or organisms and for the fulfilment of legal re q u i rements, and are thus regulated with varying strictness. In contrast, in Switzerland all such measures performed on live animals underlie the same approval re q u i re m e n t s . For animal welfarists, the term “animal experiment” includes every intervention and every treatment which is associated with pain, fear and/or suffering and does not directly benefit the respective animal. In the animal experiment, the animal concerned usually suffers as a human would, independent of the experimental goal. Expecting an animal to suffer a treatment one would not
want to undergo oneself cannot be in accord with an ethic of respect for fellow creatures. Animal welfarists aim to save animals such suffering. Consequently, they demand the immediate abolition
of all animal experiments. |