• A Houvenaghel.
• Laboratorium voor Fysiologie van de Huisdieren, Faculteit Medische en Farmaceutische Wetenschappen, Universiteit Antwerpen (RUCA).
• Verh. K. Acad. Geneeskd. Belg. 2000 Jan 1; 62 (2): 103-17.

AbstractAmong the legal aspects the following topics are treated: the definitions of an experimental animal, an animal experiment and alternative methods with special reference to the 3 R's (replacement, reduction and refinement of animal experiments); the qualifications, education and training of researchers and animal technicians; the licence for animal experimentation; the control on animal welfare; the origin and identification of experimental animals; statistical data on the number of experimental animals; ethics committees and their structure and functions in The Netherlands and Flanders. Extrapolation, species specificity and variability are the most important scientific limitations of animal experimentation. After a short historical survey on the man-animal relation, the following ethical aspects are discussed: the instrumental versus intrinsic value of an experimental animal; the hybrid status of the animal; the objectives of animal rights movements; the balance between the human benefit of an animal experiment and the discomfort for the animal; the problem of animal rights and animal suffering and pain.

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