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Basel Declaration on animal research
At a joint Swiss-German conference about animal research held this week, a new declaration was launched and has been opened for signature. The Basel Declaration opens by re-stating the importance of animal research, both today and tomorrow, but focuses its main points on the responsibilities for animal welfare, openness and need for public communication shared by animal researchers.Organised by the research organisations Forschung fur Leben (Switzerland) and the Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (Germany), the two day conference "Research at a Crossroads" aimed to encourage researchers to explain how the three R's of replacement, reduction and refinement are applied in animal research and to ensure that this was communicated to the public.
At the close of the meeting in Basel, the declaration was signed by all the chairs and co-chairs of the conference sessions, to indicate its adoption by the conference. However, it was immediately placed upon a web site with an open invitation to scientists, doctors, veterinarians and others professionals around the world to sign it to show their support for the principles it contains.
The full text of the declaration and the invitation to sign can be found at: http://www.basel-declaration.org/