Aiding mutual recognition of laboratory animal science courses through the ETPLAS initiative, the Education & Training Platform for Laboratory Animal Science.

After the adoption of Directive 2010/63/EU, harmonisation and mutual recognition of education and training (E&T) programmes in laboratory animal science are important assets for pan-European scientific exchange and mobility of personnel. Education and training are important contributors to the 3Rs and are aimed at increasing the quality of both animal welfare and science. With this in mind, the Commission proposed that an Education & Training Platform for Laboratory Animal Science (ETPLAS) be established as an information portal to enable information sharing and communication between training providers, accrediting bodies, employers and EU member state authorities. We would like to draw attention to the ETPLAS initiative, and ask course organisers to register as ETPLAS Contacts and to submit details of their courses for publication on the ETPLAS website (www.etplas.eu) in order to facilitate harmonisation and mutual recognition. Provision of high quality, harmonised education and training courses in laboratory animal science in the EU will have a significant impact on the way future generations of researchers will design and perform animal experiments, ensuring that the fundamentals of the 3R’s are well established, from an early stage, among young scientists. This will lead to increased welfare for animals used in research and better science, by, for instance, advocating correct handling of laboratory animal species, choosing the best form of anaesthesia and analgesia for their research projects and always considering which research approach is least harmful to the animal. Moreover, focus on using the least possible number of animals without losing statistical power, will result in a reduction of the number of animals used in research. Courses will stress the ‘‘no, unless’’ principle and increase awareness of replacement strategies, by introducing access routes to information on refinement, reduction and replacement through literature analyses. On the ETPLAS website a table with details of courses and course providers will be available, which makes it possible to establish networks which currently do not exist. By joining the database, E&T course providers will have access to information to ensure their courses are maintained up-to-date, meet the necessary legal requirements and if they also submit details of their courses they will have high visibility in the LAS community. Through the establishment of a network of course providers they will be able to share their teaching expertise and exchange good practice. Through a process of gap analysis they will be able to identify