Brazil starts to ban animal use in higher education: A positive and progressive development.

The Brazilian government has published a resolution that bans animal use in some practical classes within undergraduate and high school technical education from April 2019. Resolution No. 38/2018, issued by the National Council for the Control of Animal Experimentation (CONCEA), bans the killing of animals for dissection purposes and animal experiments in practical classes that do not involve the acquisition of new skills. The initial call for the ban was by the Brazilian Network for Humane Education (RedEH), an independent body comprising Brazilian professors and international collaborators dedicated to the implementation of replacement alternatives in education. The call was supported by InterNICHE, and many professors and other international organisations. The Brazilian Council of Veterinary Medicine, which is responsible for regulating the veterinary profession in Brazil, also stated its support for humane education and for the ban. The call was the first formal request, and it eventually led to the first legal resolution for the replacement of animal use in education in Brazil. This represents an important historic landmark in the advancement of science education.

On the journey toward humane education in Brazil: First request for a total ban of harmful animal use in professional and higher education.

The Brazilian Network for Humane Education (RedEH( is an independent and self-managed group comprised of academics from ten different Brazilian states and a number of international collaborators. In 2016, in a concerted effort to change the educational field in Brazil and propagate humane education, RedEH sent a request to the Brazilian National Council for the Control of Animal Experimentation (CONCEA(, asking that harmful animal use in education in professional and undergraduate courses be banned. This was the first formal request for a total replacement of harmful animal use in education in Brazil, and represented a major historic landmark in the advancement of Brazilian science education. This paper presents the full text of the request, as well as outlining its national and international repercussions. The request was supported by InterNICHE and representatives of 18 other international organisations. A major national impact of the request was its recognition by the Federal Council of Veterinary Medicine. With this action, academics and researchers took a potentially revolutionary step in the Brazilian education arena, with regard to advancing and supporting a higher quality, ethical and democratic educational system.

Alternatives across Latin America: catalysing change in the curriculum.

A 6-week series of seminars addressing replacement of harmful animal use in education and training was held across Latin America in March-April 2008. Organised by InterNICHE and partner organisations in Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, the events built on the experience of previous major outreach in Russia and India. Up to 6 full-day seminars were held at universities and independent venues in each country. Smaller meetings with campaigners, teachers and professional bodies complemented the large presentations. All events included spoken presentations, demonstrations and free trials of a wide range of alternatives. Speakers included InterNICHE experts and those from the host countries who are involved in replacement work. Partner organisations were empowered through the process of planning and execution of the seminars, and the tour helped to identify and provide support to others who are progressing humane education initiatives. Further collaboration is now planned. Information on the current situation concerning animal use and alternatives, including laws and regulations, was also gathered from each country. The tour succeeded in raising awareness and generating interest in replacement alternatives, also by national-level interviews and media coverage. Information and freeware alternatives were widely distributed, and further translations of material into Spanish and Portuguese are in progress. To continue the hands-on access to alternatives provided at the seminars, a Mexican / Central American Alternatives Loan System has been established, and others are being built in Peru and Brasil. The donation of computers and alternatives to selected universities is also being planned in order to establish multimedia laboratories that will promote alternatives through example.

Russia: update on animal experiments and alternatives in education.

Progress continues in Russia with growing awareness and implementation of alternatives in education. Further outreach visits and negotiations for replacement have been made by InterNICHE campaigners. Russian language information resources have been complemented by the distribution of translated freeware physiology and pharmacology alternatives; and the InterNICHE Alternatives Loan Systems continue to provide valuable hands-on access to a range of learning tools. Donations of computers and alternatives have established exemplary multimedia laboratories, with software having directly replaced the annual use of several thousand animals. New agreements have been made with institutes to abandon animal experiments for teaching purposes. Work to consolidate the successes is being done, and Russian teachers have begun to present at conferences to share their experiences of implementation. Further development and implementation of alternatives is being achieved through grant funding from the InterNICHE Humane Education Award. Using a different approach, cases of determined conscientious objection have included a campaign against the use of stolen companion animals for surgery practice in the Russian Far East, and a continuing legal challenge to experiments at Moscow State University. This multi-pronged, decentralised and culturally appropriate campaigning strategy has proved to be an effective approach to achieving sustainable change in Russia.

Ukraine and Russia: major InterNICHE outreach.

During October 2005, InterNICHE National Contacts Anya Yushchenko and Lena Maroueva, and Co-ordinator Nick Jukes, began a large-scale promotion of alternatives across the Ukraine and Russia. The InterNICHE outreach produced a number of positive results: presentations, demonstrations and training in alternatives to over 500 teachers and students; agreements at two institutes to replace harmful animal use in education across a whole department and faculty respectively; information gathering, and discussions with teachers about potential future replacement; reaching a massive audience through positive media coverage; and empowerment of campaigners, including InterNICHE National Contacts who successfully organised the majority of the activities. To continue the successes, funds to enlarge the Russian micro-Loan System of alternatives and to make donations of alternatives to institutes are urgently needed. Support for broadening the InterNICHE impact across Ukraine, Russia and Asian republics through the distribution of translated literature, video, freeware alternatives and web-based resources is also required. Such activity not only supports the development of a progressive, humane education, but impacts positively on animal use in research and testing by creating an environment more conducive to alternatives in general. This is important now as animal testing laboratories consider relocating in or sub-contracting to ex-Soviet countries and in central Asia. New InterNICHE connections have already been made with Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, and there are many open doors.

Towards a humane veterinary education.

There is a vast array of learning tools and approaches to veterinary education, many tried and true, many innovative and with potential. Such new methods have come about partly from an increasing demand from both students and teachers to avoid methods of teaching and training that harm animals. The aim is to create the best quality education, ideally supported by validation of the efficacy of particular educational tools and approaches, while ensuring that animals are not used harmfully and that respect for animal life is engendered within the student. In this paper, we review tools and approaches that can be used in the teaching of veterinary students, tools and approaches that ensure the dignity and humane treatment of animals that all teachers and students must observe as the very ethos of the veterinary profession that they serve. Veterinary education has not always met, and still often does not meet, this essential criterion.

Replacement of harmful animal use in life science education: the approach and activities of InterNICHE.

Harmful animal use in undergraduate education is increasingly being replaced by alternatives, such as computer software, manikins and simulators, ethically sourced animal cadavers, apprentice work with animal patients, and student self-experimentation. Combinations of such alternatives can better meet teaching objectives, reduce costs and avoid the negative pedagogical and social impact of animal experimentation. Since 1988, the International Network for Humane Education (InterNICHE, formerly EuroNICHE) has been working with teachers to replace harmful animal use and has been supporting students' right to conscientious objection. This paper presents the approach, history and current activities of InterNICHE. With a vision of 100% replacement, the network aims for empowerment by networking information and providing support. It works with the belief that most teachers want investment in the best quality and most humane education possible. The forthcoming second edition of the InterNICHE book, from Guinea Pig to Computer Mouse,1 includes practical details of progressive teaching aids and approaches, as well as case studies from teachers who employ such alternatives. In 1999, InterNICHE produced the film Alternatives in Education, now available in 20 languages. Such resources are complemented by outreach trips and conferences and an Alternatives Loan System, which offers products for familiarisation and assessment. The InterNICHE website (www.interniche.org) was launched in 2001.

Are animals necessary in biological education?

Ensuring the most ethical and effective ways of meeting teaching objectives requires good curricular design. Such design should be informed by knowledge of the available learning tools and approaches, and by reviews and studies that investigate their pedagogical efficacy. Alternatives have been shown to meet teaching objectives as least as well as conventional animal use, and they do not share the "hidden curriculum" of animal practicals that can teach disrespect for life and hinder the development of critical thinking skills. Most alternatives have been developed by teachers for their pedagogical and scientific benefits, and their implementation can bring cutting-edge technology to the process of learning. For the minority of students who genuinely need hands-on experience with animals, the use of ethically sourced animal cadavers and tissue, and clinical work with animal patients, can offer valuable learning opportunities. No animal needs to be killed or harmed within biological education.