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This article explores how the lives of companion animals – pets by another name – are valued in negligence actions when they are wrongfully killed, and the justifications underlying the current approach of market value. Because Canadians welcome companion animals into their families for reasons that go beyond economics, this paper argues that a proposition of law that values them based only on market value fails accurately to identify and compensate for the loss suffered when a companion animal is wrongfully killed. Compensating a plaintiff for either mental distress or loss of companionship appears, initially, to be an attractive alternative to the market value approach; however, because of the cautious manner with which psychological injuries have been approached in Canada, and the common law position that loss of companionship is non-compensable, these alternatives are impracticable means by which the present legal position could be modified. While compensation for mental distress can respond to some situations involving the wrongful death of a pet, it cannot provide redress in all such actions. A solution to the challenges posed by the present legal position lies in valuation by reference to the investment made by animal guardians during the course of a companion animal's lifetime. This method would allow for a companion animal's value to be accurately measured, thereby permitting compensation that adequately reflects the entirety of the loss suffered. Legislative change, creating a statutory cause of action for the attendant non-pecuniary loss, would be the most effective way of achieving this proposed change.

In Europe, the safety evaluation of cosmetics is based on the safety evaluation of each individual ingredient. Article 3 of the Cosmetics Regulation specifies that a cosmetic product made available on the market is to be safe for human health when used normally or under reasonably foreseeable conditions. For substances that cause some concern with respect to human health (e.g. colorants, preservatives, UV-filters), safety is evaluated at the Commission level by a scientific committee, presently called the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS). According to the Cosmetics Regulations, in the EU, the marketing of cosmetics products and their ingredients that have been tested on animals for most of their human health effects, including acute toxicity, is prohibited. Nevertheless, any study dating from before this prohibition took effect is accepted for the safety assessment of cosmetics ingredients. The in vitro methods reported in the dossiers summited to the SCCS are here evaluated from the published reports issued by the scientific committee of the Directorate General of Health and Consumers (DG SANCO); responsible for the safety of cosmetics ingredients. The number of studies submitted to the SCCS that do not involve animals is still low and in general the safety of cosmetics ingredients is based on in vivo studies performed before the prohibition.

Alternatives to animal experimentation are highly touted today by animal welfare advocates. Their campaign for adoption of alternatives has caused much discussion and debate within and outside of the biomedical community. The purpose of this paper was to examine the controversy and assess the more common alternatives, including the bacterial mutagenicity assay or Ames test, cell culture, and mathematical models for toxicity prediction. Safety testing of chemicals is the most promising of the fields for alternatives where laboratory animals are used, and incorporation of alternatives with live-animal assays is increasing. However, due to limitations of alternatives in use currently, there is still considerable need for in vivo systems. The veterinarian is central to the question of alternatives, in terms of humane considerations as well as the usefulness of animals in science. An effective role for the veterinarian is to serve as educator and mediator between the scientist using laboratory animals and the animal welfare proponent.

Written and edited by recognized experts in the field, the new Artech House Methods in Bioengineering book series offers detailed guidance on authoritative methods for addressing specific bioengineering challenges. Offering a highly practical presentation of each topic, each book provides research engineers, scientists, and students with step-by-step procedures, clear examples, and effective ways to overcome problems that may be encountered. Providing alternatives to animal testing is one of the hottest topics in biomedical research, and this groundbreaking volume addresses this critical issues head on. This unique book presents techniques and methods at the forefront of scientific research that have the potential to replace certain whole animal tests. Moreover, this book provides a platform where other widely accepted techniques and scientific advancements can be collated into a concise set of methods that can be implemented within both academic and industrial communities

Front Matter -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Socio-Cognitive Abilities in Animals as the Object of Science-and What Has Been Neglected Thus Far -- Questions and Objectives of the Book -- Socio-Cognitive Abilities in Animals -- The Concept of Cognition and the Concept of Consciousness -- Culture in Animals? -- Language in Animals? -- Theory of Mind in Animals? -- Summary and Transition -- The Relevance of Socio-Cognitive Abilities in Animals for Animal Ethics and Animal Welfare -- Kinship and Responsibility: the Moral Status of Animals -- Kinship and Responsibility: the Discrepancy between Ethical Demands and the Status Quo -- Summary -- Discussion -- Cognitive Kinship and the Concept of an Evolutionary Self -- A Comparison of Arguments -- Possibilities of Modifying Personhood Rights for Animals -- Alternative: Turn the Focus Back to the Suffering of Animals? -- Final Evaluation of Personhood Rights for Animals -- Back Matter -- Acknowledgments -- Bibliography -- Index.

The search for alternatives is a requirement in several countries, but rarely are the logistics or the scientists' concerns considered. At the University of California Center for Animal Alternatives (UCCAA) we offer workshops on the nine UC campuses, teaching researchers, IACUCs, and librarians how to approach the alternatives search, including search strategy, appropriate terminology, and database suggestions/links. We are also developing a web-based resource along these same lines. Scientists generally approach an alternatives search as they approach any search; they search Medline, using the terms with which they are most conversant, and consider that this is adequate. However, there are several free bibliographic databases which are both appropriate and readily accessible, including Medline, Agricola and Toxline. A growing number of alternatives databases are available; these are rarely accessed by the scientific community. Websites such as AltWeb, Invittox and AWIC provide a virtually untapped wealth of information. There are also free government research sites which provide information on current research, such as CRIS, CRISP, and CORDIS. The terms used are equally as important as the database selection. Searching with the single keyword "alternatives" is less than adequate. Synonyms in all three areas of alternatives- replacement, reduction and refinement- must be developed and employed, such as anesthesia and analgesia, enrichment and husbandry, stress and distress. By offering concrete advice and assistance, as is included in our workshop curricula and on our website, the scientists can more easily perform worthwhile alternatives searches. By making use of the new technologies to create web-based search templates specific to the scientists' needs, we can help make the searching easier while also more relevant.

The use of fats and oils in diets for pigs is of great importance due to their high energy value. As a consequence of the BSE-crisis in the European Union, the amount of animal fat available for animal feeds has been reduced, and alternative fat sources are of increasing importance. In this paper, we review our main findings on the effects of diets with different fat sources on apparent fat digestibility in pigs. A method for quantitative measurement of fat extraction from feed and faeces has been developed, and this method has been used in a digestibility trial, in which diets added 5% of either animal fat, palm oil mix, palm oil, vegetable oil mix, coconut oil, or rapeseed oil were tested in weaned and growing pigs. It was concluded that several vegetable fat sources (palm oil mix, palm oil, coconut oil, rapeseed oil) could be used as alternatives to animal fat in pig feed, whereas fat blends should be avoided.

As Russell and Burch suggested more than 40 years ago, the most humane science is the best science. The path ahead is clear: pain and distress must be eliminated in animal experiments or reduced to an absolute minimum, and, as scientists, we must use the most humane approaches in our research. To accomplish the best science, we must train those who come after us in the principles and practice of humane science.

This chapter addresses some of the areas in which animals are still used within "alternatives"-based research and calls on animal welfare and in vitro organizations to lead the debate and encourage absolute replacement of animal use in research. Without this, progress to end animal research will always remain limited, despite the paradigm shift seen in recent decades.

"In Entangled Empathy, scholar and activist Lori Gruen argues that rather than focusing on animal rights, we ought to work to make our relationships with animals right by empathetically responding to their needs, interests, desires, vulnerabilities, hopes, and unique perspectives. Pointing out that we are already entangled in complex and life-altering relationships with other animals, Gruen guides readers through a new way of thinking about and practicing animal ethics. Lori Gruen is Professor of Philosophy and Coordinator of Wesleyan Animal Studies at Wesleyan University. She is the author of Ethics and Animals and co-editor, with Carol Adams, of Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Animals and the Earth."--Back cover

This paper reviews current knowledge on two feedstuffs, that is, insect meal and fish by-products, as alternatives to conventional animal protein sources. After an introductory part that highlights the need for sustainable development of animal production, the alternative protein sources are discussed. In particular, after providing some indications on their production and supply focussing on EU, a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis was performed to identify the key factors that could help or impair the development of both protein sources production sectors. Finally, future perspectives are presented. The use of processed animal proteins derived from insects in farmed fish feeding is recognised by the EU legislation that authorises the use of proteins from seven insect species and the allowed substrates to rear insects. Insects have several advantages in nutritional value and the amino acid composition of their proteins generally meet animal requirements for good growth and health. The SWOT analysis indicated that insect meals can be considered as feed functional ingredients with beneficial properties that depend on the insect species, rearing system adopted, and the substrate used for their growth. Insects are expected to be increasingly used as a replacement for conventional animal-derived proteins, especially in aquafeeds. In the section regarding fishery and aquaculture by-products, the potential use of raw materials obtained during seafood processing is discussed. Peptides and amino acids recovered from as hydrolysed proteins can be used in animal feeds to partially substitute conventional protein feedstuffs thus providing nutrients, bioactive compounds and feed additives for animals. The SWOT analysis identified opportunities and weaknesses. Both the alternative protein sources are promising alternative feed ingredients for livestock production.