Der Begriff des vernünftigen Grundes gehört zu den schwierigsten und zugleich am meisten diskutierten Problemen des deutschen Tierschutzrechts. Dennoch ist der Bereich des Tierversuchsrechts von der Rechtsprechung diesbezüglich noch nicht erschlossen. Der Beitrag soll in diesem Zusammenhang das Spannungsverhältnis zwischen der modernen biomedizinischen Forschung und den Belangen des Tierschutzes verdeutlichen und Lösungsansätze entwickeln.
One of the main requirements of the current animal welfare legislation in Europe is to prove the necessity of performing a given experiment with animals. Thus, a study using animals should not proceed, if another scientifically reliable method is available to obtain the desired results that either avoids animal experiments altogether, minimises pain and suffering of animals or reduces the number of animals needed. Scientists are legally required to search the literature and other relevant sources for alternatives prior to any experimental study with animals. Access to information has become much easier since the introduction of the Internet as a standard tool. Today, a variety of online sources is available, e.g. web-based bibliographic databases and specialised web sites providing details about alternatives to animal studies. However, scientists still need to determine the most appropriate searching strategies, depending on the objectives of the relevant web sites and their own line of research. A critical discussion of this issue takes into account the objectives of both the information providers and the information retrieval systems
The risk assessment of nano-sized materials (NM) currently suffers from great uncertainties regarding their putative toxicity for humans and the environment. An extensive amount of the respective original research literature has to be evaluated before a targeted and hypothesis-driven Environmental and Health Safety research can be stipulated. Furthermore, to comply with the European animal protection legislation in vitro testing has to be preferred whenever possible. Against this background, there is the need for tools that enable producers of NM and risk assessors for a fast and comprehensive data retrieval, thereby linking the 3Rs principle to the hazard identification of NM. Here we report on the development of a knowledge-based search engine that is tailored to the particular needs of risk assessors in the area of NM. Comprehensive retrieval of data from studies utilising in vitro as well as in vivo methods relying on the PubMed database is presented exemplarily with a titanium dioxide case study. A fast, relevant and reliable information retrieval is of paramount importance for the scientific community dedicated to develop safe NM in various product areas, and for risk assessors obliged to identify data gaps, to define additional data requirements for approval of NM and to create strategies for integrated testing using alternative methods.
In the member states of the EU and in the USA, scientists are obliged by animal welfare legislation not to conduct an animal experiment if another scientifically satisfactory method is reasonably and practicably available. To meet the regulatory obligation to use alternatives to animal experiments, scientists should consult literature and other relevant sources on alternatives prior to any experimental study on laboratory animals. It is the responsibility of the individual scientist to select the most appropriate database to obtain information on alternatives, which have been defined as methods that refine, reduce or replace animal experiments (the 3 Rs concept of Russell and Burch (1959)). Specialised information services provide support to scientists searching for publications on alternative methods. On occasion of a workshop in Berlin in November 2003, representatives of animal welfare information centres discussed currently available information sources on alternative methods, index terms for alternative methods, and search strategies based on index terms for alternative methods. ZEBET presented an investigation on the current status of indexing systems on alternative methods in established literature databases. The project analysed how the results of a search for publications on alternatives was influenced by the indexing procedure. The results of the study were exemplified by a typical search result. The results of the study indicated that the current indexing systems do not provide the required information, since not all of the relevant information is indexed under "alternative methods". The workshop participants developed recommendations for ad hoc working groups and research projects, e.g. development of suitable search strategies on alternative methods for scientistsAuf der Grundlage der Vorschriften der Tierschutzgesetzgebung sind Wissenschaftler verpflichtet, die Unerlässlichkeit von Tierversuchsvorhaben zu prüfen. Ein Tierversuch darf nicht durchgeführt werden, wenn andere wissenschaftlich anerkannte Methoden zur Verfügung stehen. Zur Erfüllung dieser Verpflichtung recherchieren Wissenschaftler in Literaturdatenbanken und anderen relevanten Informationsquellen über Alternativmethoden. Dabei ist es dem Wissenschaftler selbst überlassen, die geeignetsten Datenbanken und Suchstrategien auszuwählen. Fachinformationsdienste bieten Unterstützung bei der Suche nach Alternativmethoden für Tierversuche an. Auf dem Berliner Workshop im November 2003, trafen sich die Vertreter verschiedener internationaler Informationsdienste für Tierschutzfragen und Alternativmethoden und diskutierten über das gegenwärtige Informationsangebot über Alternativmethoden, Indexierungsbegriffe für Alternativmethoden und Suchstrategien, die diese Begriffe verwenden. ZEBET stellte eine eigene Untersuchung über Indexierungssysteme von Alternativmethoden in etablierten Literaturdatenbanken vor. Die Studie befasste sich mit der Frage, wie Suchergebnisse zu Alternativmethoden in internationalen Datenbanken durch die Art und Weise der Indexierung von Publikationen beeinflusst werden. Die Untersuchungsergebnisse wurden anhand einer Beispielrecherche vorgestellt. ZEBET kam dabei zu dem Schluss, dass die gegenwärtigen Indexierungssysteme nicht ausreichend alle relevanten Publikationen zu Alternativmethoden erfassen. Die Teilnehmer des Workshops entwickelten Themenvorschläge für Arbeitsgruppen und zukünftige Projekte, um die Entwicklung geeigneter Suchstrategien über Alternativmethoden zu verbessern.
An Expert Meeting on The Current Scientific and Legal Status of Alternative Methods to the LD50 Test for Botulinum Neurotoxin (BoNT) Potency Testing was organised by the Centre for Documentation and Evaluation of Alternatives to Animal Experiments (ZEBET) at the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), and took place on 27-28 April 2009, in Berlin, Germany. The goal of ZEBET is to promote primarily the replacement of legally required animal experiments with valid alternative test methods, to reduce the numbers of test animals used to the absolutely necessary level, and to alleviate their pain and suffering. ZEBET's tasks are the documentation, assessment and promotion of alternative methods to animal experiments on a national and international level, and the initiation of research and development, including the funding of smaller research projects.
