Education and Training in the 3Rs

To discuss education and training of persons involved in the design of animal experiments, a workshop was organised during the 7th World Congress on Alternatives & Animal Use. Speakers from Canada, Australia, Japan, United States and Europe gave an overview of education and training requirements and courses in their parts of the world. During the subsequent discussion with the audience it was concluded that for every study involving animals there should be at least one person who is finally responsible. This person should have been educated in one of the biomedical areas and have completed a laboratory animal science course (LAS). Attitude training was regarded as the most important part of such a course. Furthermore, the content, length, skills training and harmonisation of LAS courses were discussed. The final conclusion was that education on LAS and the 3Rs not only contributes to reducing animal numbers and animal suffering, but also to better science.