MINISTERS HAVE unveiled plans for the development of a new centre designed to reduce, refine and ultimately replace the use of animals in scientific testing.

However, animal welfare groups have been warned that, if they wish to be represented on the board governing the centre’s operation, they must sign up to all three R’s.

Scientific adviser to the Association of Medical Research Charities Lord Turnberg will chair the board, while Paul Flecknell, professor of laboratory animal science at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne will act as vice chair.

Speaking at the launch, science minister Lord Sainsbury insisted that animal testing continue. “All the scientific advice makes it very clear that we must continue to use animals, both in terms of testing and in terms of research,” he said.

“While the results may not be perfect in all cases, they are absolutely essential and it would be grossly irresponsible to allow drugs and chemicals to be used without this testing.”

“Replacement is the eventual goal of the centre but so long as the use of animals continues to be necessary, it is essential every effort is made to minimize their use and improve their welfare,” the minister added.

However, animal rights group Animal Aid described the centre as a “fig leaf”.

“The three Rs concept has been around for several decades and has been used, primarily, as a sop to the increasing number of people who oppose animal experiments on the grounds that they are both cruel and irrelevant to the needs of human medicine,” said director Andrew Tyler.

“The only R that has any merit is replacement – given that experimenting on other species produces results that cannot be reliably applied to people. And yet animals continue to be pointlessly poisoned, surgically mutilated, genetically manipulated and subjected to psychological and other torments.”