Institutional declaration of the PCB on the use of experimental animals

The Barcelona Science Park (PCB) has adhered to the Agreement on Transparency in Animal Experimentation, promoted by the Confederation of Scientific Societies of Spain (COSCE), with the collaboration of the European Association for Animal Research (EARA) and created on 20 September 2016. This document aims to establish communication channels between the scientific community and society about when, how and why animals are used in research and the benefits derived from this practice.

The research carried out in the PCB research centers explores the most relevant issues in life sciences and biomedicine and contributes to the improvement of people’s lives. Experimental animals are used primarily for scientific studies in the areas of cancer, neurobiology, regenerative medicine, and cardiovascular diseases.

Our animal experimentation complies with legal standards and is reviewed by an ethical committee for animal experimentation, which promotes the use of alternative methods, the reduction of the number of animals used, and the refinement of experimental procedures. No research project that requires the use of animals can begin without the mandatory ethical evaluation and the final authorization by the respective competent authority.

The PCB also ensures that both the animal care staff and the researchers involved in the experiment have the necessary training and knowledge to carry it out and is committed to providing the necessary resources for the correct maintenance of the experimental animals in reference to facilities, maintenance, welfare and veterinary care.

The PCB promotes transparency initiatives in animal experimentation through media appearances, impact on social media, open days, the celebration of “Kids day” at the PCB and other activities aimed at primary, secondary and high school students such as support for the Batx2Lab program in which tutorials are carried out on the experimental part of the research work of these students.

Contact
Tel: +34 934 037 008
estabulari-pcb@pcb.ub.cat

Animal house