Not only does this law instruct the director of the NIH to create a plan to conduct or support research into methods of biomedical research and experimentation that do not require the use of animals, that reduce the number of animals, and that produce less pain and distress in animals, the law also mandates research establishing the validity and reliability of these methods, encourages the acceptance by the scientific community of methods found to be valid, and instructs the agency to train scientists in the use of these methods. We at CAAT have for many years indicated that it is not simply animal use or non-whole animal methods that advance science but the appropriate use of both. We are pleased to see the Congress and the NIH recognize this fact and, in the plan and in the Act itself, use language similar to that found in our mission statement. With the imposition of a legislative mandate, the National Institutes of Health is now committed to alternatives development and validation. We expect the interest and involvement of the U.S. government in validation activities to increase accordingly.
Funding remains the key issue.
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