Policy on animal experiments
The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University conducts animal experiments. In 2024, there were 3.022 (in Dutch), such experiments, and this number is steadily declining. The animal experiments are conducted with the utmost care and in accordance with legal guidelines, based on the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement of animal experiments. Utrecht University is also participating in the transition to animal-free innovation through the Ombion Centrum voor Proefdiervrije Biomedische translatie.
With the development of alternative models, a further decline in the number of animal experiments and laboratory animals is expected over the next ten to fifteen years. However, because alternatives are not available for all models, we also expect that animal experiments will continue to be necessary for research and education for many years to come. The Central Laboratory Animal Research Facility (in Dutch) supports research and education that requires the use of laboratory animals.
In veterinary medicine, methods and treatments are of course also developed to recognise, prevent or cure disease in animals in a timely manner. This development cannot take place without animals of the species itself, which, according to the law, also includes laboratory animals in animal experiments. Furthermore, the training of veterinarians would not be possible without students treating animals, which quickly qualifies as an animal experiment. However, we are obliged to limit the use of laboratory animals to the absolute minimum. Fortunately, more and more people are becoming aware of this.
Why animal experiments?
At first glance, the use of laboratory animals seems to be at odds with part of the mission of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, namely promoting animal health and welfare. However, animal experiments contribute to our knowledge about the origin of diseases and the structure and function of animals and humans. It also contributes to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and the welfare of animals and humans. A limited number of animal tests are necessary for the training of (veterinary) doctors and biomedical researchers. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine strives to represent the interests of both animals and humans as effectively as possible. In this case, this means representing the interests of both the animals we use for experiments and the importance of gathering knowledge about human and animal health.
Legal requirements
Like all animal experiments in the Netherlands, animal experiments conducted by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine are subject to strict legal conditions: every research or educational project that uses laboratory animals is ethically assessed by an independent Animal Experiments Committee (in Dutch) and ethically evaluated by the Central Authority for Scientific Procedures on Animals (in Dutch). The project can only proceed if the CCD grants a licence. The welfare of the laboratory animals is carefully monitored. In addition, all persons involved in animal experiments receive specific training for this purpose.
Animal Welfare Body Utrecht
Following the revision of the Animal Experiments Act at the end of 2014, Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht jointly established the Animal Welfare Body Utrecht (AWB). This authority assists researchers in setting up their research projects and monitors the welfare of laboratory animals. The focus is on the optimal use of alternatives and sound and responsible research, in line with the legal framework and with extra attention to replacement, reduction and refinement (the 3Rs).
Replacement, reduction and refinement
The 3Rs Centre Utrecht, part of the AWB Utrecht, works on the replacement, reduction and refinement of animal experiments. They encourage the development, acceptance and implementation of 3R methods. They do this by advising and facilitating researchers, among other things. Over the past 25 years, the development and use of 3R methods have contributed to a change in the use of laboratory animals for biomedical research:
The use of laboratory animals has been reduced, partly due to the increased use of alternative methods.
The burden on laboratory animals has been reduced.
The welfare of laboratory animals has improved.
In recent years, there has been increasing attention for the transition to animal-free innovation. Within Utrecht Life Sciences, the interdisciplinary group Transition to Animal-free Innovations (TPI) Utrecht has been established for this purpose. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has already done a great deal (and continues to do so) to reduce the number of laboratory animals used in bachelor's programmes. Read or listen to the stories below about animal-free innovations in education:
Pioneering role
The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine plays a pioneering role in the field of laboratory animal policy in the Netherlands. The establishment of the first chair in Laboratory Animal Science in the Netherlands was decisive in this regard. This chair was established in 1983. The faculty therefore has some 42 years of experience in this field. In 2000, the first chair in Alternatives to Animal Experiments, which was unique worldwide at the time, was established at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University. And in 2004, the Department of Animals in Science and Society was established. This knowledge centre has a mission to improve animal welfare through research, education and communication. In 2005, a chair of the same name, Alternatives to Animal Experiments, was established at the University of Konstanz in Zurich through the Doerenkamp-Zbinden Foundation. Thanks to financial support from this foundation, the chair in Alternatives to Animal Experiments in Toxicological Risk Assessment was established at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 2008. In recent years, the chairs in Animal Behaviour and Welfare of Laboratory Animals and Evidence-Based Transition to Animal-Free Innovations (2022) have been added.
Courses
The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine offers a Master's track in Animal Welfare. In addition, the faculty is the only educational institution in the Netherlands that trains laboratory animal experts and is responsible for the national coordination of the legally required course in Laboratory Animal Science (pursuant to Article 9 of the Animal Experiments Act). Every researcher who works with laboratory animals must have completed this course. The faculty itself also offers this course twelve times a year to approximately 250 researchers. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine also offers a number of modules on working with specific animal species.
Short term and future
Veterinary Medicine remains focused on stimulating the development, application and acceptance of methods that can replace, reduce and refine the use of (laboratory) animals (3Rs). Despite all the developments in the field of the 3Rs, biomedical research without laboratory animals is not a realistic scenario in the short term. That is why the activities of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine are mainly focused on making animal experiments less stressful, thereby improving the welfare of the animals. By increasing the reliability of animal experiments and using alternatives, we are contributing to a reduction in the number of laboratory animals. These activities and results are actively communicated and disseminated so that they can be widely applied in biomedical research.