Jukes N, Maroueva E, Leporsky D, Gericke C. The use of formal agreements to achieve replacement in education:The experience of Russia and Ukraine [abstract]. ALTEX. 2011;28(Special Issue):216. Abstract 510.


Abstract

By 2011, nearly 40 formal agreements had been signed between humane education campaigners and universities across Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Since 2005, when InterNICHE signed the first contracts with St Petersburg State Veterinary Academy and VelikieLuki State Agricultural Academy, adopting a strategy of formalising the collaboration with universities to achieve specific replacement-focused objectives has proved effective. InterNICHE National Contacts perform the majority of outreach and alliance-building with universities, and liaise internationally to combine the strengths and resources of the localised and the global in the process. InterNICHE pioneered the use of agreements in Russia, and InterNICHE and Doctors Against Animal Experiments (DAAE) (Germany) collaborate for those in the Ukraine. Typically the Agreements are signed by the Dean or Rector of the university along with the InterNICHE Co-ordinator and DAAE Project Manager. They usually detail the animal use to be replaced, and refer to curricular change at the level of department, faculty or whole university. Resources such as computer hardware, models, mannekins and software alternatives are usually provided by InterNICHE and DAAE. Media interest in the curricular transformation has been high. In many cases the agreements bring to an end the animal experiments and dissections and secure the implementation of alternatives; in others the project confirms and consolidates an existing change and secures implementation. By 2011, together they are saving an estimated 40,000 animals (vertebrates and invertebrates) from being killed annually. As one tool in the broader campaign for humane education, the successful use of agreements reflects a growing acceptance of replacement of animal experiments in education in former Soviet countries.

 



Author's contacts: coordinator@interniche.org

InterNICHE keywords: alternatives, education, animal experiments, replacement, Russia, Ukraine

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Link to journal: ALTEX - Alternatives to Animal Experimentation