East Lothian crime: Animal rights protestor claims she was hit by car during silent protest (msn.com)

An animal rights protestor claims she had to be taken to hospital after being struck by a car while demonstrating outside a medical research facility.

Rachel Campbell was part of a silent protest when she said she was hit by an employee’s vehicle outside the controversial Charles River Laboratories near Tranent, East Lothian. Rachel was taking part in the demo with the activist group East Lothian Uncaged who were protesting against the use of animals at the facility on Tuesday afternoon.

The group is speaking out against animal testing carried out at the medical research facility, a process Charles River previously said was “a vital component” of research studies.

The 28-year-old protestor, from Glasgow, spoke to the East Lothian Courier slamming the incident saying she had to be taken to hospital in Paisley for treatment to injuries to her legs and back.

Rachel, who works as a carer, said: “I was just standing there with my sign. I was just so shocked, I didn’t see it coming. He hit my legs and I felt myself forced back. It didn’t knock me over but I managed to get out of the way. I think if I hadn’t been able to move he’d have knocked me down.

“He just drove off and I was in pain. We called the police and I went to A&E when I got home.” And in a Facebook update she added: “Thank you so much to everyone for your kind words, sending lots of love, we will keep fighting even harder. I might not be tougher than a mad man’s bumper, but one thing for sure is our spirit is not damaged.”

A spokesperson for East Lothian Uncaged posted: “Today we did a silent, peaceful protest outside Charles River Laboratories in Tranent in Scotland. At 5.05pm an employee driving a blue Vauxhall Mokka left the premises. He stopped his car a foot in front of one of our team, revved his engine loudly, then drove straight into her.

“Our team member has injuries to her legs and back and is on her way to A&E to be checked over. Thankfully her injuries are not so serious that she needed an ambulance. The incident has been reported to the police and our team member will press charges.

“Plenty of other cars drove out this afternoon without coming close to hitting any of our team, as we made sure we weren’t obstructing their exit. There is a Charles River security camera directly opposite which will have filmed the incident. Please share this everywhere so the world knows the kind of sick and twisted people Charles River employs.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 5.30pm on Tuesday, October 31, a report was made to police that a woman had been struck by a car in the area earlier in the day. Enquiries are at a very early stage.”

A Charles River Laboratories spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident outside our facility on Tuesday, October 31. We recognise the right of individuals to freely, and safely, assemble and protest, and we have been in contact with local law enforcement and will cooperate with any requests they make.

“The work we do at our Edinburgh site is critically important to human health. Before the safety of a drug can be evaluated on humans, global regulatory agencies require animal research to ensure patient safety. Animal research is fundamental to understanding how to prevent and treat emerging infectious diseases, including the successful development of every COVID-19 vaccine, as well as treatments for cancer, diabetes, and a myriad of rare diseases. Charles River’s work is an essential component of the research that has led to these discoveries and has played a vital role in medical advances for humans as well as animals.

“Charles River is committed to animal welfare and exceeding international standards for care. We are also committed to replacing and reducing the number of animals used. We also partner with other companies to develop study designs that adopt this philosophy, known as the 3Rs,including the use of in vitro studies accepted by international authorities. As animal caregivers and scientific researchers, we are responsible to our clients and the public for the health and well-being of the animals in our care, and we strive to fulfill that responsibility while protecting patient safety on a daily basis.”

East Lothian crime: Animal rights protestor claims she was hit by car during silent protest (msn.com)

Regards Mark

Stirling University students call for end to animal testing amid fish experiment worries

Stirling university© Stirling Observer

Students at Stirling University have called for an end to animal testing at the institution’s aquaculture department.

The pressure has been put on by the ‘Vegan and Animal Rights Society’ based on campus and follows the university coming under fire for killing more than 18,000 fish meant for scientific experiments.

Continue reading at:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/stirling-university-students-call-for-end-to-animal-testing-amid-fish-experiment-worries/ar-AA1iTQ6M

Regards Mark

European Parliament debates and votes on CLP revision

6 October 2023

The European Parliament held its long-awaited plenary vote on the revision of the Regulation on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of chemical substances and mixtures (CLP) on 4 October. Although some new measures in the revised regulation are encouraging, other measures are still too weak and do not go far enough to reduce and ultimately phase out animal testing.

The CLP Regulation, one of the two cornerstones of the EU chemicals regulatory framework along with the regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), requires companies to classify and label their substances and mixtures to ensure a high level of protection for human health and the environment.

In December 2022, the European Commission proposed a revision of the CLP Regulation, as announced in the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS). The proposed CLP revision package consisted of a legislative proposal for the amendment of the CLP Regulation and a delegated act as a complement to the legislative proposal. While the delegated act has already entered into force in April 2023 following scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Council, the procedure of adopting the legislative proposal into EU law is still ongoing. 

Eurogroup for Animals, in collaboration with its members and other animal protection NGOs, has been working hard over the last year by submitting amendments to both the CLP legal text itself and related guidance documents. In particular, we have sought to ensure that the revised legislative proposal is aligned with the CSS objective of reducing reliance on animal testing, with the EU goal of fully replacing the use of animals in science, and most recently with the European Commission’s 2023 announcement of a roadmap to replace animal testing in chemicals regulation. To this end, we have repeatedly called for the revision of the CLP Regulation to include concrete steps to better recognise and adopt non-animal methods, to prevent both new animal tests and an increase in existing tests, and to ensure that animal tests are truly considered as the last resort.

The plenary vote in Parliament follows a vote by the Environment Committee (ENVI) in early September, where various compromise amendments to the text of the CLP regulation were discussed and agreed. The plenary vote was the moment of truth for our lobbying efforts, as it would ultimately represent the Parliament’s position for later negotiations with the Council. 

Following the vote, we welcome some of the new measures, such as improved wording on the use of non-animal methods and to allow the CLP Regulation to take into account future advances in animal-free science. In particular, Article 7 has been amended to read “non-animal, animal, and human testing”, along with a newly added paragraph clearly stating “tests using new approach methodologies shall also be considered”. In addition, Article 53 has been amended to include “the promotion of alternative methods for assessment of hazards of substances and mixtures”, expressly addressing it as a priority for future adaptations to the regulation.  

However, we are concerned that other provisions of the Regulation are still too weak and do not sufficiently encourage the transition away from animal testing or maximise the use of existing non-animal methods available. In addition, there is still conflicting information in the revised CLP Regulation and related guidance documents with regard to new animal testing requirements. Although these files state that hazard classification under CLP does not lead to any new testing requirements, the recent introduction of new chemical hazard classes, such as endocrine disruptors, may potentially result in significant increases in new animal tests. Eurogroup for Animals and other NGOs called for wording allowing new animal tests to be removed, but this was rejected. 

Eurogroup for Animals is continuing its work to achieve real-world measures towards animal-free regulatory testing and scientific innovation by pursuing our efforts on the CLP Regulation. For example, we will continue to lobby for the CLP to reach the same standards as the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) in recognising and promoting non-animal methods, and on which CLP is based. We will also continue our work on the revision of the REACH Regulation, with a legislative proposal expected to be brought forward by the Commission by the end of this year, and strive to ensure that the Commission’s promised roadmap includes concrete steps to move away from animal testing in chemical safety assessment. 

Finally, as part of the broader EU strategy and political mandate to transition to non-animal science, we will seek to ensure that modern, scientifically relevant, animal-free innovations continue to be  implemented in research, training and education

Regards Mark

New EFSA scientific opinion on the protection of cats and dogs in commercial breeding establishments

15 September 2023

Eurogroup for Animals welcomes the new scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), but notes that the apparent lack of scientific evidence for common sense approaches prevents further welfare improvements.

The new opinion “Scientific and technical assistance on welfare aspects related to housing and health of cats and dogs in commercial breeding establishments” focuses on three aspects; housing, health and painful surgical procedures. EFSA came to the following conclusions:

Housing

Evidence supports that cats and dogs used for breeding should not be kept permanently in boxes, crates or cages (whether multi-storey or not). Such confinement compromises their welfare, leading to abnormal behaviour and distress.

According to EFSA, further evidence is needed to support the fact that breeding dogs need an outdoor area for exercising and socialisation on a daily basis. It is at least acknowledged that such needs should be fulfilled regularly and preferably on a daily basis.

EFSA concluded that ideal housing temperature for the majority of adult cats is 15- 26°C. An ideal housing temperature in adult breeding dogs could not be provided due to the diversity of breeds and types of dogs. There is little or no research to conclude on the ideal housing temperatures for young kittens, pregnant bitches or puppies. 

Although the role of light in regulating physiological, behavioural and hormonal parameters is widely known, EFSA believes there is insufficient scientific evidence to support the idea that access to daylight has an impact on the welfare of breeding dogs and cats.

Health

Specific focus was placed on welfare issues associated with reproduction, as well as breeding frequency. 

EFSA concluded that no breeding should take place before skeletal maturity, even though puberty may happen first. On the frequency of pregnancy, it is advisable to assess the body condition score and general state of health to prevent exhaustion and, for queens over 6 years and bitches over 8 years, a check-up by a vet is recommended.

There is no universal approach to the minimum breeding age for bitches and queens, or to the minimum time between whelping. In the case of dogs, size is considered an important factor: for small breeds an age of 18 months is considered as fully grown, while for larger breeds, a prior check is necessary.

Painful surgical interventions

So-called cosmetic surgeries such as declawing to prevent scratching in cats (a perfectly natural and necessary behaviour), tail docking in dogs, ear cropping and debarking should never be performed unless necessary for the animal’s health.

Eurogroup for Animals welcomes EFSA’s conclusion on the clear impairment of dog and cat welfare during painful surgical procedures, as well as the irreversible damage caused by living permanently in boxes, crates and cages. Nevertheless it is regrettable that the lack of scientific evidence for what we could call common sense approaches may put a hold on improving inadequate living conditions.

Regards Mark

Enjoy: 

New study reveals 4.2 million animals used in just three test categories for REACH – and numbers are still rising

28 July 2023

A recently published study, co-authored by the Centre for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), reveals that 4.2 million animals have been used to date to comply with the REACH Regulation in three test categories: repeated-dose toxicity, developmental toxicity, and reproductive toxicity.

Read the full study here.

The  Registration,  Evaluation,  Authorisation  and  Restriction  of  Chemicals (REACH) Regulation (EC 1907/2006), which came into force across Europe 16 years ago, is the most important piece of EU legislation to protect human health and the environment from the risks that chemicals can pose. It requires the chemical industry to test the safety of all chemicals used in their products. Although animal testing is only allowed as a last resort for safety assessment, i.e. when there is no other non-animal method to obtain the safety information, a large number of animals are still used for this purpose. However, the exact number is neither clear nor publicly available. Therefore, the authors of the study identified the animals used under REACH for the above-mentioned test categories, which represent the majority of animal use under REACH. Based on a direct count of animals in REACH dossiers since 2009, the study shows that approximately 2.9 million animals have been used to date and a further 1.3 million animals are being used in ongoing chemical tests. As compliance checks continue, it is expected that more animal testing will be required.

The study provides clear evidence that the number of animals suffering and dying for chemical testing has been vastly underestimated. The figures for the three test categories analysed to date already far exceed the European Commission’s original estimate of 2.6 million animals that would be used for all test categories as a result of the implementation of the REACH Regulation. The main reason for this difference is that the European Commission’s estimate did not include offspring, although they represent most animals used for REACH. Other reasons include surplus animals to ensure sufficient survival to meet the minimum testing requirements, and additional test animal groups. The authors of the study continue to count all animals used for all test categories in order to obtain a direct estimate of animal use under REACH. Roughly speaking, the number of animals used for other test categories is estimated at between 0.6 and 3.2 million.

The figures are published to coincide with the European Commission’s revision of the REACH Regulation which is likely to expand and increase animal test requirements despite the legal requirement to only use animals as a last resort, the 2021 vote by the European Parliament to phase out such tests in favour of innovative animal-free science, and the well known limitations of animal tests. For instance, an additional 3.5 to 6.9 million animal tests are expected due to the 2022 amendment of REACH. Although the analysis of the use of non-animal test methods was beyond the scope of the study, the authors reported issues with the “read-across” approach (i.e. predicting toxicity by comparison with structurally similar chemicals that have  already been tested). ECHA reports that in 75% of cases, read-across methods were rejected during compliance checks, often  due  to  an  unsatisfactory  justification, triggering the request for animal use to cover the toxicity test.

It is clear the effects of chemicals on human health and the environment are still very poorly understood, with a staggering 70% of EU substances still ‘with poor characterisation of their hazards and exposures’. When we need to communicate or travel, do we resort to antique phones or vintage cars? Of course not. We use the most up-to-date models available, so why is the same not true for chemical safety and research, when such a critical objective- the protection of human health and the environment – is at stake? The implementation and use of non-animal approaches that provide more biologically relevant data is considered by the scientific community to be long overdue and urgently needed to overcome the problems of animal tests, which cannot reliably predict human safety.  

In line with the Commission’s commitment to ultimately move to an animal-free regulatory system under chemicals legislation, it is time for regulators and stakeholders to move beyond rhetoric and leave the old ways behind, by taking action to i) make better use of existing methods and; ii) invest in the development of new scientifically advanced, non-animal approaches to better protect human health and the environment. This can and must be done in a risk-free, measured, intelligent way,  not only to assess – but also to improve – protection levels for human health and the environment.

Regards Mark

Animal rights and environmental campaigners snarl over animal testing ban

Read more:

Animal rights and environmental campaigners snarl over animal testing ban – POLITICO

European Commission backs phase-out of animal use in experiments and chemicals tests but ignores citizens’ wishes on cosmetics

24 July 2023

The European Commission today kick-started a plan to phase out animal testing for chemicals across Europe but will not protect the EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics in response to the “Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe Without Animal Testing” European citizens’ initiative (ECI) signed by 1.2 million European citizens.

While campaigners welcome the plan to ultimately eliminate animal testing for chemicals and the longer-term proposals to reduce and phase out the use of animals in research and education, outrageously, the Commission ignored citizens’ calls to uphold the ban on animal testing for cosmetics, a ban established by legislators over a decade ago.

Despite the introduction of an EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics ingredients in 2009, animal tests for chemicals handled by industrial workers or which may be released into the environment are still being required under the EU’s REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) regulation. Disturbingly, proposed updates to REACH indicate that animal testing for chemicals is set to surge over the coming years. Rather than waiting for the EU courts to resolve this issue in an ongoing case, citizens’ demands must be immediately addressed to prevent further animal suffering.

In the EU and Norway, a shocking 7.9 million animals suffered in laboratories in 2020 – among them rabbits, mice, cats, and dogs. Substances are forcibly administered down their throats, and they are infected with debilitating diseases, genetically manipulated, given brain damage through surgery, exposed to severe pain, and used in breeding programmes that perpetuate this cycle of suffering. Although the Commission is exploring actions to accelerate the development and use of non-animal methods, they do not constitute the root-and-branch reform demanded by EU citizens via the ECI.

The ECI was launched in August 2021 by animal protection groups Cruelty Free Europe, Eurogroup for Animals, the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments, Humane Society International/Europe, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, with the backing of beauty brands The Body Shop and Dove. The ECI called for the strengthening and protection of the ban on animal testing for cosmetics, the transformation of chemicals regulations to bring an end to testing on animals, and a commitment to phasing out all testing on animals in Europe.

Positive commitments made by the Commission in response to the ECI include the following:

To develop a roadmap to end all mandated tests on animals for industrial chemicals, pesticides, biocides, and human and veterinary medicines

To explore the creation of an expert scientific committee to provide advice on the development and uptake of non-animal approaches

To propose an action of the European Research Area to coordinate national policies to replace the use of animals in laboratories and speed up development and implementation of non-animal methods

To organise one or more workshops with experts to determine future priority areas of research to accelerate the transition to animal-free science

Citizens will now expect that everyone involved works to ensure that the measures suggested by the Commission have maximum and meaningful impact, and we will continue to advocate for more action where it is needed.

“The people of Europe have made it clear that experimentation on animals has no place in our modern society. While we welcome positive actions to replace the use of animals in experiments and chemicals tests, we wholly condemn the Commission for failing to end the suffering of thousands of animals used in cosmetics tests. The Commission must now propose meaningful changes to existing legislation and policies to set member states, regulators, and assessment bodies on the path to phasing out all uses of animals in laboratories. Therefore, we are calling on all actors to pursue the goals of the ECI, commented Sabrina Engel, chair of the ECI organising committee.

In an open letter, over 100 European scientists from 16 EU countries have called on the European Commission and Member States to commit to establishing an EU roadmap to accelerate the transition to non-animal science.

“We are glad to see a commitment for a first roadmap to phase out animal testing, and proposed actions that prioritise a transition to non-animal science. However, the reply of the Commission falls short in delivering meaningful changes to animals in laboratories. Despite the persistent voices of EU citizens, animals will continue to be used for cosmetics testing, and we are missing a commitment for an overarching plan that completely eliminates the use of animals in science.

There is a scientific, ethical and economic opportunity to shift the landscape to allow for innovative and more humane and relevant research that better protects humans, animals and the environment. To fully respect the democratic process, we require more ambitious action.”

Reineke Hameleers, CEO at Eurogroup for Animals

Regards Mark

Testing on live animals fell by 10% last year, data suggests

The number of scientific procedures carried out on live animals last year fell by 10%, new data shows.

Across Great Britain some 2.76 million tests were carried out on animals in 2022 – down from 3.06 million – representing the lowest number since 2002.

Data from the Home Office shows that experimental procedures (1.51 million) fell by 12% and made up 55% of all procedures last year.

Read full article at:

Testing on live animals fell by 10% last year, data suggests (yahoo.com)

Regards Mark

European scientists continue to support an EU roadmap to accelerate the transition to non-animal science

10 July 2023

In the space of a week, 80 European scientists from 14 EU countries have signed an open letter calling on the European Commission and Member States to commit to establishing an EU roadmap to accelerate the transition to non-animal science.

The transition to non-animal science can offer more effective and accurate humane solutions for biomedical research and regulatory testing, and has been acknowledged by the European Commission, EU agencies, the cosmetics, chemical, pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, the consumer goods sector, and academia as an important step in tackling the health and environmental issues that threaten society today. This transition is overwhelmingly supported by Members of the European Parliament and EU citizens, and is in line with the European Union’s objective to fully replace the use of animals in science.

To achieve improved human health and environmental protection, it is essential to coordinate EU efforts and policies that facilitate and prioritise the transition to non-animal science in all EU research, innovation and education initiatives. Clear short-, medium-, and long-term actions are needed to guide and accelerate the adoption of innovative non-animal approaches while phasing-out animal-based methods. In addition, a coordinated European Research Area (ERA) initiative can revolutionise the scientific landscape by supporting innovation, research infrastructure, and knowledge sharing to train and inspire scientists, educators, students and regulators in the use of non-animal approaches.

The undersigned call on the European Commission and the Member States to establish an EU roadmap and launch an ERA action. This initiative should include concrete milestones, cross-sector support, open science principles, dedicated funding and harmonised education and training initiatives to accelerate the transition to non-animal research, regulatory testing and education.

If you are an EU academic or scientist and wish to sign this open letter, please follow this link.

List of signatories: 

Name:	Position:	Affiliation:	Country:	Suggestions:
Martin Paparella	Senior Researcher	Medical University Innsbruck	Austria
Bernard GODELLE	University professor	University of Montpellier	France
Penny Nymark	Assistant Professor	Karolinska Institutet	Sweden	In parallel with development of non-animal methods, known as New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) within chemical risk assessment, it is also paramount that all generated data in science is made Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR)! Besides being a non-animal method in itself, reuse of data is the only way we can move into an era of machine-driven and AI-supported predictive chemical risk assessment without the reliance on animal testing.
Pranjul Shah	Head of the Incubator	University of Luxembourg	Luxembourg
Mario Rothbauer	Group Leader	Medical University of Vienna – Dpt. Ortho Trauma Surgery	Austria
Dania Movia	Assistant Professor	Trinity College Dublin	Republic of Ireland
Prof. Dr. Stefan Dübel	Head, Dept. of Biotechnology	Technische Universität Braunschweig	Germany
Ashwani Sharma	Co-founder	Insight Biosolutions	France	Hello, I agree that we need alternative methods than animal testing as using like human in vitro models can give better results than animal testing.
Janneke Hogervorst, PhD	Postdoctoral researcher	Hasselt University	Belgium	For many areas of research, animal testing is known to have very limited validity. We don’t need to first develop non-animal methods there; we should just end animal experiments there right now and spend our limited resources on other research. We need more systematic reviews into the validity of animal experiments, rather than treat animal experiments as the gold standard that we need to find replacements for. Ending what doesn’t work is innovation too.
Love Hansell	PhD Researcher	Radboud University	Sweden
Bas van Balkom	Asst Professor	UMC Utrecht	The Netherlands
Margherita Scarpa	Engeneer	Institut Jacques Monod	France
Federica Emiliani	Lecturer	InHolland University of Applied Sciences	The Netherlands	Investing even more in in vitro/silico modelling
Birgit Goversen	Postdoctoral researcher	Amsterdam UMC	The Netherlands	– More funds for the improvement of current NAMs – A focus on understanding, supporting and convincing stakeholders; not on forcing them to use NAMs
Merel Ritskes-Hoitinga	Prof. in Evidence-Based Transition to Animal-Free Innovations	Utrecht University	The Netherlands	Setting goals is key, just like we do for the economy. The science and technology ARE here to move to non-animal science. By teaming up with social sciences and key stakeholders we can accelerate and strive towards ending animal testing by 2035.
Rosalinde Masereeuw	Full professor	Utrecht University	The Netherlands	Make sure everybody is on-board, we can only make the transition together.
Mathieu Vinken	ONTOX coordinator/university professor	Vrije Universiteit Brussel	Belgium
Koen Kramer	Researcher animal ethics	Wageningen University & Research	The Netherlands
AC van Veen	Postdoc	Radboud University	The Netherlands
Tuula Heinonen	Professor	Tampere University	Finland	Regulators give acceptance criteria for approving non-animal methods to predict safety (all chemicals) for all end points and efficacy (drugs)
Julia D Zajac	Project manager	Vrije Universiteit Brussel	Belgium
Sonja von Aulock	Editor in chief, CEO	ALTEX – Alternatives to Animal Experimentation	Germany
Tobias Theska	PhD Student	Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen	Germany
Ingeborg Eva Reihs	Doctoral candidate	Medical University of Vienna	Austria	More specific funding for absolute animal-free and clean science, method establishment. Awards for absolute animal-free approaches and more critical thinking about so-called animal-free research.
Alicia Paini	Senior Toxicologist	esqLABS GmbH	Italy
Eliska Kuchovska	postdoctoral researcher	IUF – Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine	Germany
Marina Garcia de Lomana	Research Scientist	Bayer AG	Germany
Job Berkhout	PhD Student	UU, RIVM	The Netherlands
Domenico Gadaleta	Scientific Consultant	Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri – IRCCS	Italy
Katharina Koch	Postdoctoral Researcher	IUF – Leibniz-Research Institute for Environmental Medicine	Germany	More interaction between researchers, the regulatory bodies and the industry. ECHA for example! More case studies supported by the regulatory bodies and indurtry. More guidance on the use of PBTK in POD estimation.
Erwin L Roggen	CEO and WP6 leader of the ONTOX project	3Rs Management and Consulting ApS	Denmark	Willingness to change and courage to embrace innovation in practice, not only words.
Ellen Fritsche	Professor	DNTOX GmbH	Germany	Establish case studies involving different stakeholders and compare classical risk assessment to NAM-based risk assessment.
Helena Kandarova	ESTIV President, Director of UEFT CEM SAS	ESTIV and Slovak Academy of Science	Slovakia	Please try to harmonize legistlation accorst various sectors so that animal testing is not requested in areas, where replacements are availabe (e.g. medical devices, pesticides, pharmaceuticals)
Alessio Gamba	Postdoc researcher	VPH institute and University of Liege	Belgium
Jeffrey Bajramovic	Director 3Rs Centre Utrecht	Utrecht University	The Netherlands
PD Dr.-Ing. Joachim Wiest	Adjunct professor	Technical University of Munich	Germany
Nicolas Bayer	Master Student	RPTU Kaiserslautern	Germany	ethically based funding!!!
Christiane Spruck	PhD student	IUF	Germany
Florian Caiment	Associate Professor	Maastricht University	The Netherlands
Andreas Schiwy	PostDoc, Teamleader	Goethe University	Germany	The advancement of chemical defined media for culture of cells, replacement of animal derived products like fetal bovine serum as well as rat liver S9 with biotechnological alternatives. The development of physiological media to sustain cell lines that show similar reaction compared to the human body.
Liliana Moreira Teixeira	Assistant professor	University of Twente	The Netherlands
busuqet	ceo	altertox	Belgium
John Grin	Full professor in the governance of transitions	University of Amsterdam	The Netherlands
Huub Schellekens	Emeritus Professor	Utrecht University	The Netherlands
Esther Wenzel	COO	Abcalis GmbH	Germany
Tamara Vanhaecke	Professor	Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy	Belgium
Maria Tsamou	Chief Scientific Officer	ToxGenSolutions	The Netherlands
Emilio Benfenati	Head of Department	Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri	Italy
Wouter Dhert	Professor and Scientific Director Innovation in Life Sciences	Utrecht University	The Netherlands
Daniela Salvatori	Professsor Anatomy and Physiology, Chairperson Animal-free Innovation Utrecht University	Utrecht University	The Netherlands	Education (interprofessioanl education) and creation of a community able to go through the necessary changes
Hanna Dusza	Postdoctoral researcher	Utrecht University	The Netherlands
Annalisa Gastaldello	Project Officer	European Commission	Italy
Konstantina	PhD student	VU Amsterdam	The Netherlands	Allocating funds to research aimed at developing in vitro methods modeling animal testing.
Jakob (Jaap) Heringa	Professor Bioinformatics	Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam	The Netherlands	FAIR data infrastructure; Digital twin
Jos Joore	CEO	Mimetas	The Netherlands
Victoria Marincheva	Assist. Prof.	University of Forestry Sofia	Bulgaria
Iliyan Manev	Assos. Prof. in Immunology	Faculty of Veterinary medicine, University of Forestry	Bulgaria
Eckhard von Keutz	Consultant	Independent	Germany	A concrete working plan which contains the deliverables and the associated timelines. Leadership and commitment are needed to execute on the roadmap.
Jiayi Yang	PhD candidate	Utrecht University	The Netherlands
Silvia Scaglione	Chief Scientist, President of React4life	React4life	Italy
Kamile Jovaisaite	Scientific Sales Representative	STEMCELL Technologies	The Netherlands
Madalena Cipriano	Senior Scientist	University of Tübingen	Germany
Benoît Maisonneuve	CSO	NETRI	France	4 steps are necessary IMO: 1 – funding to develop and validate NAMs with clinical data, 2 – access to the clinical data (usually confidential), 3 – a regulatory framework to develop NAMs, and of course 4 – a legislative evolution of the European regulation (concerning drug developement etc) similar to what has been done in the USA and in India.
Luiz Ladeira	Postdoctoral researcher	Liège Université	Belgium
Erwin L Roggen	CEO	ToxGenSolutions BV	The Netherlands	Wiilingness and confidence based on scientific data in stead of believe.
Eva Bernet Kempers	postdoctoral researcher	University of Antwerp	Belgium
Line Mathiesen	Associate Professor	University of Copenhagen	Denmark
Ellen Fritsche	Prof.	IUF	Germany
Costanza Rovida	Scientific Officer	CAAT-Europe	Germany
Christian Maass	Principal Scientist, Lead Digital Organ-on-Chip Platform	esqLABS	Germany	Coordination with roadmap on standardization from CEN/CENELEC
Timea Gandek	Phd student	University of Groningen	The Netherlands
Ramiro Jover	Professor	University of Valencia	España
Kathrin Herrmann	Senior Associate	Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT)	Germany
Rafael Gozalbes	CEO	ProtoQSAR SL	SPAIN
Arno Gutleb	Managing Director	INVITROLIZE sarl	Luxembourg
Hubert Dirven	Department Director Chemical toxicology	Norwegian Institute of Public Health	Norway	Legislation for chemicals need to be revised
Dr Brett A. Lidbury	Associate Professor	NCEPH – The Australian National University	Australia	We need a centre like ECVAAM to support non-animal innovation for biomedical research.
Thomas Luechtefeld	CEO	ToxTrack Inc	United States
James Rathman	Professor	Ohio State University	USA
Yanitza Trosel	Researcher	Sunnybrook Research Institute	Canada	Start using mimic organ environments to test more basic system, then start increasing the complexity.
Pandora Pound	Research Director	Safer Medicines Trust	UK
Brigitte Franke-Bray	Independent Consultant Pharmaceutical Medicine	Freelance	Switzerland
Pelin Candarliogu	Independent Consultant on the use of NAMS	3D and 3Rs	UK	Standardisation guidelines followed with a qualification framework for specific context of use and independent test centres that will evaluate and qualify different NAMs for regulatory acceptance
Dr Lilas Courtot	Science Manager	Animal Free Research UK	United-Kingdom
Francesca Pistollato	Senior Strategist – Biomedical science	HSI Europe	Italy	The transition towards human-relevant non-animal methods and models will help increase societal impact of funded research, in order to make scientific results really useful and translatable to human diseases and physiology.
Manuela Cassotta	Biologist Medical writer	OSA (Oltre la Sperimentazione Animale)	Italy
Dr. Christiane Hohensee	Subject specialist for Animal-free Research Methods	Federal Association ip People for Animal Rights	Germany

Regards Mark

ECHA workshop highlights commitment to animal-free regulatory system for industrial chemicals

9 June 2023

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) hosted a two day workshop to hear feedback from regulators, industry, academia, and environmental and animal protection organisations on how to accelerate the transition to a chemicals regulatory system free from animal testing.

The workshop’s main objectives were to explore opportunities to increase the use of NAMs in the short term and how research and regulation can support the transition in the longer term, to identify next steps to accelerate the transition to non-animal testing.

The event successfully engaged 500 attendees following other recent key developments, including the unprecedented success of the European Citizens Initiative “Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics —Commit to a Europe without animal testing“, which received more than 1.2 million validated signatures in January 2023. Subsequently, meetings between the ECI organisers, the European Commission and Members of the European Parliament took place to discuss the ECI’s three objectives. These events built on the majority support received in 2021 from the European Parliament, which led to a resolution calling on the European Commission to coordinate a plan to accelerate the transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing, and education.

At the end of the event, 75% of attendees felt ‘more confident’ that animal testing can be replaced with non-animal methods and that increasing confidence in these methods is critical to transition to an animal-free chemicals safety testing system. ECHA closed the event by remarking on the community’s strong commitment to move towards animal-free chemical safety assessments, the different understanding of NAMs among stakeholders, and the importance of having goals and concrete milestones to make progress. This aligned with earlier remarks from the European Commission (DG Environment) to identify ‘critical milestones along the way’.

However, presentations from DG Environment on short-term planned actions under the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability showed that – despite some efforts to adopt non-animal methods – the revisions of REACH and CLP will still lead to an increase in the use of animal testing for new purposes, and suggestions from the Commission’s scientists (DG JRC) to avoid new tests have not been fully taken into consideration at this stage.

Eurogroup for Animals will continue its efforts to build support for concrete actions and next steps on the roadmap from the European Commission, to ensure an active transition towards animal-free regulatory testing and scientific innovation.

Regards Mark