A one-day National Conference on Welfare of Laboratory Animals was organised by CPCSEA, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, with the theme of “Implementation of 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) while using animals in academic research and regulatory testing in India”

The conference deliberated upon elaborating the understanding of animal use in academics, as well as regulatory testing and evaluating the use of alternatives, wherever animals can be exempted from testing. 

The conference also laid emphasis on the issue of ethical use of animals in academics and regulatory testing in India. The discussions were focussed on evaluating the possibilities of exemption of animal experiments in academics and regulatory testing.

Dr. Subeer Majumdar, Director, National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB); Dr. K. Muralidhar Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad; Dr. Y.K Gupta, Professor and Head, Department of Pharmacology, AIIMS and Dr. Alok Dhawan, Director, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research were present at the conference and was chaired by A.K Jain, Additional Secretary, MoEF&CC and Dr. G. N. Singh, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).

The conference was also attended by representatives from animal welfare organisations like PFA, and PETA India, to encourage exchange of views between the stakeholders.

The CPCSEA is mandated to alleviate pain & suffering to the laboratory animals before, during or after the performance of experiments on them.