New Cooperation On Reducing Animal Tests

The U.S., Canada, Japan, and the European Union last week signed a memorandum of cooperation that could lower the number of animals required for consumer product safety testing. The deal is aimed at producing recommendations that will speed adoption of alternative toxicity testing methods in each of the signatory countries. Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, signed the deal on behalf of the U.S. "This agreement," she says, "will help us achieve greater efficiency by avoiding duplication of effort and allowing us to leverage limited resources." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals applauds the international cooperative effort, which it had long sought. The group says that for the U.S. to work successfully under the agreement, the federal government needs to overhaul the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods. The committee has authorized only one alternative testing method since it was founded more than a decade ago.