European standard of animal testing. Humanitarian and legal aspects

Abstract

Progress in medical and veterinary research as well as the development of the pharmaceutical industry have influenced the increased need for the usage of laboratory animals. The first act of international law introducing substantial limits on the usage of animals for scientific purposes was the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes adopted on the 18th of march 1986 in Strasbourg. The Convention along with the European Parliament and Council directive of 22.09.2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes (2010/63/UE) creates a new European standard of animal testing. The axiological ground of this standard is the so called 3 R principle (replacement, reduction, refinement). The objective of this article is the presentation of the most significant rules and requirements of animal experimentation standards set by the acts of international law and European Union documents, especially considering the humanitarian and legal aspects of the above mentioned directive.