Some news from Pro-Test in the UK.
The Oxford Biomedical Facility is finally complete after five bumpy years. Despite violence, arson, threats, intimidation and harassment, Oxford University has pulled through with its new animal research facility. This lab is setting a new “Gold Standard” in animal welfare, one that will meet and exceed the standards set by the Home Office regulations.
Pro-Test played an important part in the building of the lab, bringing the students, scientists and residents of Oxford together to defend the need for animal research in Oxford. By explaining the benefits clearly and countering propaganda from the animal rights groups, Pro-Test helped bring the British public behind the need for this lifesaving medical research.
The life-saving research that can now go ahead in the lab will include work on cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, HIV, muscular dystrophy, motor neurone disease, epilepsy, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The lab will be using state of the art equipment to help further the 3Rs – Refinement, Replacement and Reduction.
Here’s what Oxford University has to say about the 3Rs:
“In terms of replacement, the facility has been designed so that in the long-term future the space can be used flexibly, including for non-animal research. In terms of reduction and refinement, the facility will bring expertise onto one site, allowing for best advice. Oxford’s Veterinary Services team, which exists to advise on the welfare and health of Oxford’s research animals, has expertise in the 3Rs and will be in the building with training rooms and other facilities that represent a huge improvement from the space they had before.”
The lab will contain 98% rodents, mainly transgenic mice, with non-human primates accounting for less than 0.5% of the animals in the lab.
“With the support of the students, the scientists and the public, the completion of the Oxford Biomedical Facility is a victory for both science and reason. It is our family, our friends, and ourselves who stand to gain from the lifesaving medical research that has marked Oxford University as a world leader in biomedicine . This lab represents not just better facilities for scientists, but also better welfare conditions for the animals within, showing Oxford University’s commitment to the principles of Refinement, Replacement and Reduction in animal research.” – Pro-Test Spokesman.
Cheers
Tom
Speaking of Research 