Studies Database
Jukes N, Bhavsar S, Ward L, Marchig J. Investing in humane education: Provision of alternatives across India [abstract]. ALTEX. 2011;28(Special Issue):210. Abstract 509.
Abstract
InterNICHE has worked with Indian teachers, students, campaigners and others since 2002, during which time a range of national and local projects have been initiated and supported. These have included outreach visits and seminars, demonstrations and training in alternatives, replacement-based grant projects, the establishment of a national alternatives library, and work at the level of government and academic councils. Within these, distribution of alternatives has played an important role, both to familiarise end users and other stakeholders with alternatives and to achieve replacement in specific practical classes. By funding the development of new software and negotiating with producers, InterNICHE has been able to offer many alternatives for free or at cost. Recent distribution includes at the 2009 national zoology alternatives seminar; the 2010 national conference of the CPCSEA, the government agency for animal experimentation; the Dissection Committee of the UGC, who help define the curriculum for university zoology departments; and the 2010 national animal protection network conference. Often an alternatives pack, featuring a collation of software from across the disciplines, has been distributed. Software specific to one discipline has also been sent directly to teachers; the Indian Journal of Pharmacology disseminated 4000 copies of pharmacology freeware. By mid-2011, with support from the Marchig Animal Welfare Trust, InterNICHE had distributed products whose normal purchase value exceeds US$500,000. With the UGC abandoning the requirement for dissection in zoology studies from 2011 onwards, a major new project is helping to provide alternatives to the estimated 17 million animals used annually in this field.
InterNICHE keywords: education, animal experiments, alternatives, replacement, India
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Link to journal: ALTEX - Alternatives to Animal Experimentation
