Korea stepping up efforts to prevent animal experimentation

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Korea stepping up efforts to prevent animal

experimentation

 

February 28, 2008

 

In line with worldwide efforts to protect animalsf

rights and therefore avoid animal experimentation due

to ethical concerns, the Korean government has come up

with a plan do the same.

 

The National Institute of Toxicological Research

(NITR) under the Korea Food and Drug Administration

says it will actively seek ways to find alternatives

to animal experiments and testing through cooperation

with other Asian countries.

 

As a first step, NITR is to hold an international

symposium Friday (Feb. 29) to discuss realistic and

effective alternatives to animal experimentation.

Renowned scholars on that issue from Asian countries,

including Japan, will participate.

 

Officials say it is very important to come up with

alternatives tailored for Korean exporters because for

one, the European Union (EU) has been strictly against

animal testing and starting 2009, the EU is to ban any

kind of animal testing for beauty products and it will

not import any cosmetics products that have been

tested on animals.

 

Officials say such a trend is likely to be adopted by

other countries as well and will be applied to other

import items, and in order to prepare for that, Korean

firms need to find alternative ways to animal testing

to meet the international demand.

 

Along with many European countries, many advanced

countries including the U.S and Japan have recognized

that animal testing is unethical and have established

government-run research centers to study effective

alternatives to animal experiment.

 

By Han Aran

Korea.net Staff Writer