“Laboratory Animal welfare communication” is a not-for-profit organization that supports institutions or facilities in compliance for using animals in medical and scientific research, education and testing, and disseminate information for general citizens to understand animal research.
The animal welfare management law was amended in 2005 in Japan, and 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement), the principle of experimental medicine, has been introduced. Subsequently, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare issued basic guidelines on animal experiments, and the so-called institutional management system (voluntary management) has been enacted. Although fifteen years have passed since then, it is hard to say that all public and private institutions for research, education and testing using animals have established such systems to guarantee verification and certification by external organizations. In addition, there is little information dissemination from these institutions using animals, and it cannot be said that citizens have gained a sufficient understanding of animal experiments.
Therefore, we have launched this organization with the aims for supporting public institutions and private facilities for various research, education and testing using animals in the improvement of compliance and the establishment of systems required by each basic guideline, supporting them in the further improvement of appropriate animal experiments by helping verification and certification by external organizations, and dissemination of information for general citizens to understand animal research.