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REGISTER IN ADVANCE FOR REFINEMENT WEBINAR!

Registration is open for the Fin3R webinar "Current challenges of the 3Rs, 3Vs and Harm-Benefit-Analysis in Animal Research Practice (in Switzerland)" which will be presented by Dr. Dr. Matthias Eggel (Department of Philosophy, University of Basel).

Date: May 7, 2025, at 14:00 EEST (Helsinki)

Short summary of the talk:

The harm and benefit concepts underlying the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement), 3Vs (internal, construct, external validity) and the Harm-Benefit-Analysis (HBA) remain underdeveloped. That is, we lack ethically informed criteria to evaluate the absolute and relative moral significance of pathocentric harms (e.g., pain, suffering, distress) and non-pathocentric strains (e.g., instrumentalization, interference with appearance and abilities, humiliation, etc.). I argue that killing (most) research animals ought to count as harm due to excessive instrumentalization.

Analogously, we lack clear criteria on how to evaluate different forms of benefits (i.e. knowledge vs practical benefit). I argue that evaluation of knowledge gain is much less speculative than prospectively evaluating practical benefits. Furthermore, the role of the 3Vs as modulating factors in the evaluation of benefit is underdeveloped.

We lack adequate methods to weigh conflicting interests of humans and research animals in a Harm-Benefit-Analysis (HBA). This poses challenges in animal research practice. Notwithstanding our shortcomings in weighing harms against benefits, I argue that from an ethical point of view, maximizing the 3Rs and 3Vs in practice is more important than improving methods of conducting a HBA. This has implications for what kind of expertise is necessary in animal review bodies.

References:

Eggel M, Würbel H. Internal consistency and compatibility of the 3Rs and 3Vs principles for project evaluation of animal research. Lab Anim. 2021 Jun;55(3):233-243.

Eggel M, Grimm H. Necessary, but Not Sufficient. The Benefit Concept in the Project Evaluation of Animal Research in the Context of Directive 2010/63/EU. Animals (Basel). 2018 Feb 28;8(3):34.

Current Research Project: Benefits and harms of animal testing: a clearer assessment

SPEAKER: Dr. Dr. Matthias Eggel (Department of Philosophy, University of Basel)

Master of Science in Human Biology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of Berne, Switzerland
PhD in Bioethics, University of Zurich and Veterinary University in Vienna (Austria): PhD Thesis on Problems of the Harm-Benefit-Analysis.
Postdocs in Vienna (Austria) and Fribourg (Switzerland).
Currently: Junior Research Fellow at the Department of Philosophy, University of Basel (Switzerland), Group leader of a research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (“National Research Project 79: Advancing 3R – Research, Animals and Society”) with the title: Beyond 3Rs – Developing a 21st century account of harms in animal research.
Research Interests: Animal Ethics and Animal Research Ethics. The Harm and Benefit concepts in Animal Research. The weighing of human and animal interests.

Registration for this webinar is required: https://helsinki.zoom.us/meeting/register/0mBwUaxzT2uOSd0EbdYIMw

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.This webinar will be locked when the meeting room limit (300) is reached.

During the webinar, please keep your cameras off and your microphones muted. After the main talk, we have time for discussion where you can participate with your face and voice!

SAVE THE DATE!

The Finnish 3Rs Symposium 2025 will take place from October 27 to October 28, 2025 in Turku. More information coming soon!

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