Law of Humane Science 921-S2

Animals are used routinely in scientific experiments in biomedical research and in toxicity testing.  The utilization of animals in toxicity testing for drug discovery and safety and chemical hazard evaluation, and the development of animal models in disease research have lead to the passage of several federal laws and federal and state litigation surrounding, humane treatment, animal use and cruelty.   In addition, several important science policy treatises have been published discussing the relationship between ethics, science and animal use in experimentation.  The most significant historical treatise, The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique (1959), created the concept of the “3Rs” – refinement, reduction and replacement – that is the basis of almost all US and international laws in this field.  Additional publications, such as the National Academy of Sciences’ Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, (8^th Ed. 2010) are also important.   

This course will examine the laws, regulations and policies that govern the relationship between biomedical institutions, laboratory researchers and animals, which have developed rapidly over the past half-century.  It will focus on the system of self-regulation that is at the heart of the US (and international) efforts to address ethical and societally beneficial laboratory animal use.