Many medicinal and toxic compounds are tested on animals before they are declared safe for human use. Animals are also used in basic and applied research. But animal testing can be costly and can cause suffering to animals, and the results do not always translate successfully to humans.

Teachers will have the opportunity to explore the new technologies that could make animal use in science unnecessary in the future. The MOOC will take them through the “Three Rs” principles with many practical examples on how to address them in the classroom, to develop students' critical thinking and debating skills, develop their data literacy and enhance their understanding of science. The course will start on 13 September, is free of charge and will be most relevant for secondary school life sciences (biology) teachers. Teachers of other disciplines, as well as animal science/welfare stakeholders and policymakers are welcome. 

The project is promoted by the EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM). The lab is based at the JRC’s site in Ispra (Italy) and over the last 30 years has been developing, validating and promoting scientific methods to replace animal tests. Its researchers are pushing scientific boundaries to identify new methods that will ultimately make animal testing redundant in the EU.