Animal Research, Accountability, Openness and Public Engagement: Report from an International Expert Forum
Elisabeth H. Ormandy,
Daniel M. Weary,
Katarina Cvek,
Mark Fisher,
Kathrin Herrmann,
Pru Hobson-West,
Michael McDonald,
William Milsom,
Margaret Rose,
Andrew Rowan,
Joanne Zurlo,
Marina A.G. von Keyserlingk
Affiliations
Elisabeth H. Ormandy
Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Daniel M. Weary
Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Katarina Cvek
Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden
Mark Fisher
Principal Adviser, Animal Welfare, Ministry for Primary Industries, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Kathrin Herrmann
The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Pru Hobson-West
School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Michael McDonald
Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
William Milsom
Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Margaret Rose
Director Research Governance, South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health Districts, Conjoint Professor, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2036, Australia
Andrew Rowan
The Humane Society of the United States, Washington, DC 20037, USA
Joanne Zurlo
The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Marina A.G. von Keyserlingk
Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
In November 2013, a group of international experts in animal research policy (n = 11) gathered in Vancouver, Canada, to discuss openness and accountability in animal research. The primary objective was to bring together participants from various jurisdictions (United States, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom) to share practices regarding the governance of animals used in research, testing and education, with emphasis on the governance process followed, the methods of community engagement, and the balance of openness versus confidentiality. During the forum, participants came to a broad consensus on the need for: (a) evidence-based metrics to allow a “virtuous feedback” system for evaluation and quality assurance of animal research, (b) the need for increased public access to information, together with opportunities for stakeholder dialogue about animal research, (c) a greater diversity of views to be represented on decision-making committees to allow for greater balance and (d) a standardized and robust ethical decision-making process that incorporates some sort of societal input. These recommendations encourage aspirations beyond merely imparting information and towards a genuine dialogue that represents a shared agenda surrounding laboratory animal use.
