100 years the buav has been campaigning peacefully to create a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals." new england anti-vivisection society (neavs) (united states): "recognition of the inadequacy of animal toxicity testing has resulted in the development of better techniques ... neavs and its programs will help hasten the inevitable and necessary transition away from animal-based experimentation, testing, and teaching, toward science and science education governed by progressive scientific thought and compassionate ethics." humane society international (hsi) in the us and uk: "today, scientific and government authorities worldwide are acknowledging the deficiencies of "animal models" and calling for a new approach to safety testing and health research using state-of-the-art techniques. advances in biology, genetics, computer science and robotics have given scientists new tools to help identify the root causes of human toxicity and disease." people for the ethical treatment of animals (peta) in the us and uk: "we teamed up with ceetox, inc. to fund work on a new humane skin test that could replace painful tests on mice and guinea pigs." public campaigns and awards petition to the european parliament for the abolition of vivisection as a european citizen initiative. the threshold of 1 million signatures was reached for the deadline (1 november 2013). the european commission is currently checking the authenticity of each signature. "go cruelty free" the launch of the global "go cruelty-free" campaign occurred in 2012 and every year since the launch there have been more and more contributions from around the globe to help put a stop to using animals for lab testing. the most recent contribution is from australia in 2019, they banned the use of newly derived animal test data for cosmetics. hsi's report "advancing safety science and health research with innovative, non-animal tools" the lush prize: "the lush prize is a major initiative which will use resources to bring forward the day when safety testing takes place without the use of animals. the lush prize will focus pressure on toxicity testing for consumer products and ingredients in a way which complements the many projects already addressing the use of animals in medical testing." epaa (european partnership for alternative approaches to animal testing) will grant a €3000 prize to a laboratory technician involved in implementing and raising awareness of replacement, reduction and refinement of animal testing. the alternatives research and development foundation (ardf) provides grants to advance the use of non-animal methods in the fields of biomedical testing, research, and education. the international nc3rs 3rs prize is awarded to highlight an outstanding original contribution to scientific and technological advances in the 3rs in medical, biological or veterinary sciences published within the last three years. the american fund for alternatives to animal research (afaar) funds a wide and encompassing range of research involving the use, development, or validation of alternatives. education and training iivs: the institute for in vitro sciences, inc. is a non-profit research and testing laboratory dedicated to the advancement of in vitro (non-animal) methods worldwide. founded in 1997, iivs has worked with industry and government agencies to implement in vitro testing strategies that limit animal use while supplying key information for product safety and efficacy decisions. norina is a database containing details of products which may be used as alternatives or supplements to the use of animals in education and training. norina's search engine is linked to those of two other databases: textbase, which provides information on textbooks and other written material of relevance to laboratory animal science and alternatives, and 3r guide which gives details of guidelines, information centres, databases, journals and email lists within the field of replacement, reduction and refinement of animal experimentation. the three databases are hosted by norecopa. interniche is the international network for humane education. it has been developed to meet the needs of teachers and trainers, students, ethics committees, alternatives producers and campaigners internationally. "tierschutz macht schule" - the association for animal welfare education - was founded in the course of the implementation of austria's nationwide animal welfare law. the animal welfare education association aims to improve the living conditions of pets, farm animals, laboratory animals and wild animals through providing knowledge about their needs and behaviour to children, youth and the public. the association offers a teaching magazine about research animals and animal tests suitable for secondary schools and college, which can be ordered on their website. it aims at explaining alternatives to animal testing in a youth appropriate language and can be used in lessons straight away. xcellr8's mission is to support, develop and implement the use of scientifically advanced and ethically sound alternatives to animal testing. they are an exclusively in vitro company, with commitment to promoting non-animal testing strategies at the core of all of their activities. the animal welfare information center at the national agricultural library (usda) holds a workshop several times a year called "meeting the information requirements of the animal welfare act". in the workshop, researchers and other stakeholders learn how to perform literature searches for animal use alternatives as well as the history and evolution of the animal welfare act of 1966 and its amendments, showing how the legislation regulates animal welfare. episkin academy is an initiative of the industry to propose training and courses to facilitate the deployment of validated alternative methods to animal testing in toxicology and to prepare next generations of scientists and toxicologists to use these methods. created in 2012, episkin academy proposes a modular program ranging from demonstration of these methods to full theoretical and practical laboratory training leading to certification. based on long-term partnerships with institutional partners in different countries, this program in education allows hands-on training to the methods but also to the scientific and regulatory knowledge important for their implementation and acceptance. institutes and national or international organizations institutes and organizations that research or fund alternatives to animal testing include: asia - oceania medical advances without animals trust (australia) alternatives to animal experimentation laboratory, department of pharmacology, jawaharlal nehru medical college, aligarh muslim university, aligarh (india). mahatma gandhi-doerenkamp center for alternatives to use of animals in life science, bharathidasan university, trichy, tamil nadu, india education japanese center for the validation of alternative methods (jacvam), since 2005 the korean center for the validation of alternative methods (kocvam), since 2009 south america bracvam as the brazilian center for the validation of alternatives methods. it was established in 2011. north america canadian council on animal care canadian centre for alternatives to animal methods, founded in 2017 at the university of windsor. health canada, which does not have a formal validation centre, but coordinates health related test method validation and acceptance issues american fund for alternatives to animal research (afaar): "over the years, afaar has funded alternatives worldwide, including more than 200 human tissue culture tests to replace toxicity and other testing on animals ... today, afaar funds a wide and encompassing range of research involving the use, development, or validation of alternatives." interagency coordinating committee on the validation of alternative methods (iccvam) (united states), since 1994; johns hopkins university center for alternatives to animal testing physicians committee for responsible medicine (united states) europe the european commission's role in promoting the development, validation and uptake of alternative approaches to animal testing started in 1991, with the launch of ecvam (european centre for the validation of alternative methods), hosted by the joint research centre. as from 2011, ecvam became known as the eu reference laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (eurl ecvam). eurl ecvam hosts an online database of toxicological, non-animal alternative test methods db-alm. under the framework programmes 6 and 7, the ec funded a significant number of large integrated research projects aiming to develop alternatives to animal testing for about eur 330 million based on the review of reach from february 2013 (the european chemical program). the european partnership for alternative approaches to animal testing (epaa) as a liaison between the ec and industries. the european consensus platform for alternatives (ecopa) coordinates efforts amongst eu member states. zentrum fuer ersatz (austria) finnish center for alternative methods (ficam), since 2008 francopa is the french platform dedicated to development, validation, and dissemination of alternative methods in animal testing. it was created on november 16, 2007. zentralstelle zur erfassung und bewertung von ersatz- und ergänzungsmethoden (zebet) (germany), since 1989 norecopa is the norwegian consensus platform for the replacement, reduction and refinement of animal experiments. it was founded on october 10, 2007. romanian center for alternative test methods (rocam) promotes the application of alternative methods in industry and their acceptance by regulators in romania and also the development of new methods and approaches. rocam was established in june 2015 with the main goal to support and promote the 3rs principles in romania and regionally. dr hadwen trust (united kingdom) fund for the replacement of animals in medical experiments (united kingdom) national centre for the replacement, refinement and reduction of animals in research (nc3rs) (united kingdom), since 2004 international international cooperation on alternative test methods (icatm): on april 27, 2009, the united states, canada, japan and eu signed a memorandum of cooperation that could reduce the number of animals required for consumer product safety testing worldwide. the agreement will yield globally coordinated scientific recommendations on alternative toxicity testing methods that should speed their adoption in each of these countries, thus reducing the number of animals needed for product safety testing. international cooperation on alternative test methods (icatm) legend : ich: the international conference on harmonisation of technical requirements for registration of pharmaceuticals for human use oecd: the organisation for economic co-operation and development has a test guideline program that deals with chemicals. iccr: the international cooperation on cosmetics regulation (iccr) is an international group of cosmetic regulatory authorities from the united states (fda), japan (ministry of health, labour, and welfare), the eu (ec, dg enterprise), and canada (health canada). this multilateral framework maintains the highest level of global consumer protection, while minimizing barriers to international trade. the oecd (organisation for economic co-operation and development) is a forum for discussion where governments express their points of view, share their experiences, and search for common ground, as opposed to a supranational organization. oecd is a forum where alternative test methods also undergo validation and are therereafter accepted for regulatory purposes in more than 35 member countries worldwide. ngos are represented at the technical level at the oecd, under the icopa international council on animal protection in oecd program. the testing of chemicals is labor-intensive and expensive. often the same chemical is tested in several countries simultaneously, which means that redundant animal tests are performed. to relieve some of this burden, the oecd council adopted a decision in 1981, stating that data generated in a member country, in accordance with oecd test guidelines and principles of good laboratory practice (glp), shall be accepted in other member countries for assessment purposes and other uses relating to the protection of human health and the environment. this principle is referred to using the acronym mad, for the mutual acceptance of data.