Conference on ethical use of animals in academics held

A day-long national conference was today organised to brainstorm about ethical use of animals in academics and regulatory testing in India.
The Committee for the Purpose of Control And Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) under the environment ministry organised the conference with the theme - "Implementation of 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) while using animals in academic research and regulatory testing in India".
"The conference deliberated upon elaborating the understanding of animal use in academics, as well as regulatory testing and evaluating the use of alternatives, wherever animals can be exempted from testing.
"It also included brainstorming sessions in the form of panel discussions, which had eminent scientists working with animals, versus those working in the field of alternatives," an official statement said.

The discussions were focused on evaluating the possibilities of exemption of animal experiments in academics and regulatory testing.
Eminent speakers including National Institute of Animal Biotechnology Director Subeer Majumdar participated in it among others.
The CPCSEA is mandated to alleviate pain and suffering to the laboratory animals before, during or after the performance of experiments on them.
The committee is trying to find appropriate alternatives to the use of animals in experiments in India, the statement added.