A warning from swissuniversities: initiative to ban animal experiments in Switzerland jeopardises progress in medicine and the environment
Institutional Communication Service
swissuniversities warns: the initiative "Yes to a future without animal experiments" threatens Switzerland's research and innovation hub. It could harm the Swiss population by hindering the development of new knowledge and solutions, especially in the health, food, and environmental sectors. Animal research in Switzerland is conducted responsibly and provides benefits to humans, animals, and the environment. In 2022, the Swiss electorate decisively rejected a ban on animal experiments.
The federal popular initiative "Yes to a future without animal experiments" aims to ban animal experiments, including a ban on the keeping, breeding and trade in animals for this purpose. The initiative demands that all animal experiments for education and training, basic research, and experiments with severity level 3 be banned immediately and that all other animal experiments be banned at the latest within seven years of the adoption of the popular initiative. These bans would jeopardise important fields of research and make progress, innovation and training in human and veterinary medicine more difficult or even impossible, as well as in other areas of life sciences and biotechnology. Research is an international field, which is why swissuniversities is committed to ensuring that animal experiments can continue to take place at Swiss universities. Animal experiments are subject to strict rules in Switzerland. In the event of a ban, many experiments can be expected to be transferred abroad, where legislation often takes less account of animal protection.
Animal experiments are often indispensable for research into cures for serious diseases, drug development, and fundamental research. They make it possible to save lives and alleviate suffering, for example, in oncology or immunology. To increase patient safety, regulatory authorities require pharmaceutical products to be tested on animals.
Progress in human and veterinary medicine in Switzerland is jeopardised
In February 2022, the Swiss electorate decisively rejected an initiative aimed at banning both animal and human experiments, with an overwhelming "no" vote of 79% (refer to the statements by swissuniversities from 2019, 2021, and 2022). A new popular initiative is now proposing a ban on all animal experiments, which the Swiss electorate has previously rejected. If adopted, this initiative would have serious negative consequences.
Switzerland is internationally recognised as a leader in research, innovation, development, and education. Accepting this initiative would jeopardise that leadership position and impede progress and knowledge acquisition in medicine and life sciences.
Furthermore, the ban on animal experiments in teaching and continuing education would have far-reaching consequences in veterinary medicine and thus for the health and welfare of domestic, farm and wild animals. It would lead to a loss of competence in the protection and welfare of animals in our country. Moreover, even in human medicine, doctors rely on animal experiments for their basic and continuing training, such as learning surgical techniques. A ban would, therefore, directly impact the quality of their training.
Research with animals in Switzerland today
In Switzerland, research involving animals is strictly regulated. According to the Animal Protection Index (API) ranking, Switzerland has the strictest animal protection policies and legislation in the world, together with Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The Swiss Animal Protection Act is one of the few pieces of legislation in the world that recognises the concept of the dignity of animals. The Swiss Animal Protection Act and regularly updated ordinances and directives on research involving animals ensure that the legal framework aligns with technological progress and the ethical concerns of the Swiss population.
In Switzerland, researchers are legally obliged to apply the so-called "3R Principle" (Replace, Reduce, Refine) when planning a research project involving animals. This principle stipulates that animal experiments are only permitted if no alternative methods exist (Replace). If animal experiments are indispensable, the number of animals involved in the experiment must be limited to the minimum necessary (Reduce). Experimental procedures and breeding conditions must cause as little discomfort as possible (Refine). Animal experiments can only be authorised if the 3R principle is observed, which means, for example, that the need to use animals must be justified. Furthermore, the expected benefits for society or the environment and the stress the animals are subjected to must be described in detail. For ethical, legal, and economic reasons, in silico (computer modelling) and in vitro (e.g., cell cultures) methods have already been used as much as possible.
In Switzerland, every animal experiment must be authorised by the cantonal veterinary authority. The cantonal commission for animal experiments, which is made up not only of scientific, legal and ethical experts but also of animal welfare representatives, assesses applications for authorisation. Animal models are only used if there are no equivalent alternatives; this is a basic requirement for granting experiments on animals. Since the amendment of the animal welfare ordinance on 1 March 2018, institutes and laboratories must appoint an animal welfare delegate. This person ensures that experiments are planned according to research standards from the initial application stage and supports researchers in implementing the 3R principles. Only qualified specialists with a valid authorisation for animal experiments and further training through a continuing education system are authorised to conduct animal experiments under the supervision of the cantonal veterinary authorities. The authorisation procedure ensures that animal experiments are limited to what is strictly necessary.
Science is constantly progressing, and alternative methods are increasingly replacing procedures that use animals. Researchers themselves are already working to reduce animal experiments, taking up the impetus provided by the popular initiative. The members of swissuniversities are obliged to reduce the use of animals in research as much as possible and are committed to their respectful and responsible treatment. swissuniversities believes that a ban on animal experiments is not the right approach and, on the basis of all the arguments listed above, rejects the popular initiative "Yes to a future without animal experiments".
