In the News column of the current issue of ALTEX Goran Krummenacher announces as headline [1]: “RUS: The Ural region stops inhumane education”. Krummenacher reports that a formal agreement between Perm State Pharmaceutical Academy and the International Network for Humane Education InterNICHE was signed on 4th Feb. 2010. The Academy now becomes the tenth Russian higher education institute to sign such a contract concerning the introduction of alternatives to animal labs.

With this, InterNICHE grants the academy computer programs for use in the classroom as an alternative to dissection an animal experimentation. On the other hand the Academy guarantees to stop all animal labs for students and commits to alternatives, Krummenacher reports.

The active promotion of alternatives made by VITA and InterNICHE (Russian section) campaigners in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus has resulted in the introduction of alternatives in dozens of universities in the CIS countries. Krummenacher: This results in the “replacement of the annual use of thousands of animals”.

The new Russian film “Humane Education in the CIS countries” made by VITA and InterNICHE with the support of DAAE (Doctors Against Animal Experiments Germany) describes this curricular change.

The first higher education institution to abolish animal labs in Russia was St. Petersburg State Academy of Veterinary Medicine. On 24th Oct. 2005 a historic agreement was signed with InterNICHE on the cancellation of experiments in the departments of pharmacology and toxicology. The Velikie Luki State Agricultural Academy signed as second institution in 2006 and this agreement covers the whole faculty of Animal Science. “In both institutions there has been further progress since” writes Krummenacher. The contract with Perm State Pharmaceutical Academy “provides for an immediate cessation of all animal labs for students across all departments.”

[1] Krummenacher, G: “RUS: The Ural region stops inhumane education” in ALTEX 27, 1/10, p. 79.