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Get on BOARD stands for "Be Open about Animal Research Day" - This social media campaign is supported and coordinated by the European Animal Research Association (EARA) and the biomedical community (https://www.eara.eu/), to celebrate the increasingly proactive approach to communicating about animal research.

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I'm joining this 24 hour global social media campaign because I believe we have a responsibility to society, our animals and ourselves to be transparent about animal research. Taking responsibility is one of the key elements in animal research to balance human interests and animal welfare. The discussion about animal experiments has been very controversial for years. Research results, new therapies or diagnostic methods seem to fall from the sky for most and there are tireless calls for a ban on animal testing. 

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Animal research clearly represents a special form of human-animal relationship: the benefit is abstract, distant and uncertain. The harm, pain and suffering to the laboratory animal are inevitably associated with animal testing and of course it can be debatable whether animal testing is ethical. However, the global pandemic clearly shows that animal testing is important. We still need animal testing to develop efficient vaccines or therapies. Medical progress is not possible without animal testing.

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In view of the dynamic changes in the human-animal relationship and the special position of animal-experimental research in public criticism, we have to create trust in animal-experimental research. It is all the more important not only to talk about animal experiments, but also to practice responsible research. In order to create trust, we need to talk about the possibilities and limitations of animal research. This also includes developing a transparent error culture and also providing information on how we proceed to ensure the greatest possible animal welfare. This ensures understanding and acceptance in society. 

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Therefore, as a scientific community, we must commit ourselves to promoting animal welfare, research quality, the well-being of employees and transparency with the highest priority in the sense of a culture of care. With a code of ethics defined in this way, we will implement our own as well as legal and social requirements for animal welfare and animal protection.

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In Germany we have seen an increasing movement towards more transparency and communication in animal research over the past six years. Foundations such as Animal Experiments Understanding as an information initiative of German science (https://www.tierversuche-verstanding.de/ueber-uns/) or ProTest Deutschland ev (https://www.pro-test-deutschland.de/) seek dialogue with the public and aim to provide comprehensive, up-to-date and fact-based information on animal research. Nevertheless, Germany still lags behind in comparison to other European countries. This becomes particularly clear as unfortunately only a few universities, research institutions and research companies are open to carrying out animal experiments.

 

An exemplary example of transparency and communication in animal research is the Jena University Hospital (https://www.uniklinikum-jena.de/Forschung/Tierexperimentelle+Forschung.html). I hope that introduction of the Transparency Agreement (Transparency Agreement) in Germany will join many other institutions in this movement. 

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A change in behavior towards transparency and honest communication brings opportunities for animal research while raising human concerns and concerns about being personally defamed. I myself have worked on animal experiments for years and try to reconcile research and my own demands in terms of animal welfare and animal protection. I have often come up against my own personal limits, but I have never lost faith in the general benefits of animal testing. It was and is all the more important to me personally to talk about animal experiments, to discuss controversially and to provide information. This is our responsibility out of respect and appreciation for our laboratory animals and the research work we have done.

 

I therefore support the participants of my seminars, workshops and discussion events such as the 6R Roundtable (https://www.berliner-kompaktkurse.de/6r-roundtable.html) to take this responsibility and to find ways of communication.

 

Each one of us is an important ambassador for honest, valid and transparent research.

Together we must create a trusting dialogue with the public.