ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION: ETHICS COMMITTEES IN 2008

In the absence of any legal requirement, ethics committees for animal research have been set up in France over the past two decades, at the request of researchers. The national committee for ethics in animal research (Comite national de reflexion ethique sur l'experimentation animale), founded in 2005, has now written a national Charter with an appendix recognizing the committees and harmonizing their working. These texts are completed with recommendations edited by the ethics committees from both public and private institutions, defining and normalizing the conditions of the ethical review of animal studies. This modem and efficient organization, dedicated to the monitoring and permanent improvement of animal experimentation, takes into account the need for animal protection and the demand for scientific quality.