News release – Thursday 8^th April 2004

New life science and alternatives website launched:  www.interniche.org/pl

The Polish version of the world’s largest website devoted to modernising life science education and replacing animal experiments with progressive, humane alternatives is launched today by InterNICHE, the International Network for Humane Education (1).

The unique site is aimed at teachers and students of biological science, medicine and veterinary medicine, and is also recommended viewing for university ethics committees, legislators, civil rights and animal protection groups.

Its content provides news and information about advances in life science teaching across the world and arguments for the implementation of ‘alternatives’. These innovative learning tools and approaches include advanced computer software, training mannekins and simulators, student self-experimentation and problem-based learning, ethically-sourced animal cadavers and clinical learning opportunities with animal patients.

Also available on the site are details of InterNICHE resources (2), assessment of alternatives and links to producers, and contacts for international libraries where teachers can borrow such products for free trial. Over 1000 new resources and links, including case studies written by university teachers who have implemented alternatives, will be added to the site during 2004 to provide teachers with further information to support their work in effective curriculum design.

The conventional animal practical at many universities often includes dissection for the study of animal anatomy, and animal experimentation to teach physiology, pharmacology and surgery (3). Aware of the limitations of these approaches, teachers at many institutes across the world have been re-designing courses to improve the learning environment for students and to meet learning objectives more effectively (4).

Ethical and financial concerns, and the opportunities provided by recent developments in multimedia technology, have prompted a re-assessment of conventional practice. Harmful animal use is therefore increasingly being replaced by combinations of superior teaching methods that are more appropriate for training future life science professionals.

Co-ordinator of InterNICHE, Nick Jukes, said today, “Progressive teachers are constantly developing and applying new tools and approaches to improve knowledge and skills acquisition. Pressure from students for an ethical science is also contributing to the on-going replacement of harmful animal use, and alternatives are rapidly becoming the norm in a growing number of practical courses. The new InterNICHE website provides a powerful resource to facilitate this transformation in Polish life science education.”

Contact:

·        Nick Jukes, InterNICHE Co-ordinator on tel: +44 116 210 9652 or e-mail: coordinator@interniche.org

Notes for editors:

(1)Translated by Ewa K. Suskiewicz, the Polish site is available at www.interniche.org/pl, with the English site at www.interniche.org. InterNICHE is a non-profit charity working with teachers to introduce alternatives to animal experiments and with students to support freedom of conscience. Founded in 1988, it is a network and organisation with national contacts in over 35 countries worldwide.

(2)InterNICHE resources include the 520-page book from Guinea Pig to Computer Mouse (2003), the video Alternatives in Education (1999), the international Alternatives Loan System and an annual Humane Education Award.

(3)Despite the tradition of humane education in some disciplines or countries, and the growing momentum for replacement, harmful animal use is still the majority practice. Tens, if not hundreds, of millions of animals worldwide are killed annually for dissection and animal experiments.

(4)Most animal practicals have changed little over the decades, with students performing the same experiments to produce the same contrived results, to the detriment of critical thinking and effective acquisition of knowledge and skills. Many are also brief, unsupervised and poorly performed.

Over 30 published academic studies show that students using alternatives perform equal or better than those using conventional methods (see www.interniche.org/compar.html). Conscious design of a curriculum allows teachers to choose from a range of tools and approaches to meet identified teaching objectives more effectively and more ethically. For many teachers, ‘alternative’ methods are therefore just better ways for students to learn. The power of modern multimedia, for example, with its exceptional potential to facilitate the visualisation of structure and the understanding of process, can be harnessed to the learning process. Students can also repeat a task or procedure until they have gained the confidence and competence to move on to the next stage of learning, for example using training mannekins for clinical skills practice and using ethically-sourced animal cadavers for surgery practice.

The hidden curriculum of harmful animal use teaches disrespect for life, and the desensitisation of students has significant social consequences. Compulsory dissection and vivisection teaches that students’ ethical concerns and beliefs are unimportant, and many are coerced into animal practicals under the threat of academic or psychological penalty, which has resulted in a number of legal cases against universities. Alternative tools and approaches do not require the killing or harming of animals, and do not limit students’ legal and moral rights to freedom of conscience. Unlike harmful animal use, the implementation of alternatives may encourage emotional and ethical literacy and respect for important cultural values such as compassion, empathy and personal responsibility.

Alternatives are widely available and there are countless examples of full replacement already achieved. Harmful animal use is detrimental to education and the life sciences, and has questionable relevance. It is also against the word and spirit of legislation such as the European Convention 123, European Directive 86/609, and other national and international legislation.