A chair on alternatives?

An overview is given on the legal framework in Europe for the use of experimental animals set by EU (European Union) Directive 86/609/EEC and on the activities of EU member states to implement this directive in the field of regulatory testing in animals. The significant decrease in the number of experimental animals in Germany during the past decade is described with particular reference to the recent increase that is due to transgenic animal models. From the regulatory and the animal welfare perspective the international harmonisation of test guidelines and the mutual acceptance of data are the way forward for chemical safety testing. The recent White Paper of the EU Commission for the future chemicals policy calls for an immediate increase in the number of validated in vitro toxicity tests to be accepted for regulatory purposes in the EU. In addition, deficits of properly educating young scientists in Germany in conducting animal experiments and implementing the 3-Rs concept of Russel and Burch are described. It is therefore, quite urgent to establish new chairs on animals and alternatives at universities in Europe. They should focus on both education young students of the biomedical sciences in the humane use of laboratory animals according to the 3-Rs concept and on developing new toxicity tests to be validated for regulatory purposes under the new EU chemicals policy by the established validation centres in Europe.