The ARC was the major breeder of lab mice and rats, and supplied animals to medical research programs at most of Australia’s universities and medical research institutes around the world.
MELISSA DAVEY: A major supplier of laboratory animals to Australian researchers since 1988 will close within the next 18 months due to financial difficulties, renewing debate about the use of animals in medical and scientific research… According to Animals Australia, more than six million animals are used annually in research and teaching in Australia and New Zealand, and many of those experience some degree of pain or stress either due to the experiments they are used for or due to the environments they are kept in…
While some researchers say the announcement from the Animal Resource Centre [ARC] in Western Australia caught them off guard and will further exacerbate difficulties facing research programs caused by Covid lockdowns, others say it is long overdue that scientists look for alternatives to using animals in medical and scientific research… An email to ARC customers sent by the acting CEO Kirsty Moynihan said the decision to close”… has been made on the basis that it is not able to operate in a financially self-sustaining manner, as required by legislation”. “In addition, the ARC is required to vacate its current premises at Murdoch University,” the email said…
A senior WA government spokeswoman told Guardian Australia on Thursday that the ARC had not been financially viable “for some time”. “The ARC is required to be operated in a financially self-sustaining manner,” she said… “The ARC was originally set up with a focus to provide laboratory animal models to WA research institutions. In recent history, only about 16% of the ARC’s production has gone to WA research institutions”. “The majority of the animal stock sold is supplied to interstate and overseas markets for medical research at a loss – effectively being subsidised by WA taxpayers”…
Dr Malcolm France, an independent consultant in laboratory animal care and management, said the ARC was the major breeder of specialised strains of lab mice and rats, and supplied animals to medical research programs at most of Australia’s universities and medical research institutes. “Closure of ARC would not just affect the many medical research programs that depend on these specialised strains of mice and rats, there is also the potential loss of the technical expertise required to breed them,” he said…
Associate Prof Brett Lidbury, a scientific adviser to Humane Research Australia and infectious diseases researcher, said he no longer used animals in research. Not only did the high death rate of the animals and ethics of using animals concern him, but he said animal findings were usually not even scientifically useful. “Animal models are 90-95% ineffective at predicting human disease,” he said. “The overwhelming evidence suggests animal models are in no way the best way to study human disease.”
But he said the culture in Australian research of demanding results in animals before allowing tests in humans had been slow to change. That had made it difficult for researchers who may feel uncomfortable using animals, and know of the limitations for translating those findings to humans, to do things differently. Lidbury said various alternatives to animal models were already being used overseas… “There are credible advances away from animal models, but getting those alternatives validated and accepted by broader research culture is proving difficult,” Lidbury said…
Dr Monika Merkes, a social researcher and policy consultant who investigates methods and technologies that can replace animals in biomedical research and testing, said the EU and US were phasing out animal research. “This work has been going on for many years, and the results are documented in publicly available databases,” she said. “Unfortunately the federal government has so far not provided sufficient incentives for the development of new animal-free methods, nor provided support to animal researchers to update their skills and move with the times.” SOURCE…
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