The International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the worldwide promotion of ethical principles, scientific responsibilities, and welfare in the use of laboratory animals for research and education.
Originally established as the International Committee on Laboratory Animals (ICLA) in 1956, ICLAS activities focus on: education and training for those working with laboratory animals, harmonisation of guidelines on the care and use of laboratory animals, the enhancement of laboratory animal quality, promoting the continuing development of LAS worldwide through its regional committees and scientific meetings.
Governance ICLAS's policy-making body is its Governing Board (GB), which consists of volunteer representatives of National, Scientific, Union and Institutional ICLAS members who are elected every four years at the ICLAS General Assembly.
Funding ICLAS's funds come mainly from annual ICLAS member fees, which vary according to the size of the organization and membership category. Other income sources are periodic donations and sponsorships, particularly for ICLAS training programs, from companies, organizations and foundations operating in the field of laboratory animal science (LAS).
Members , ICLAS had 81 members worldwide:
National members
Africa
America
Asia
Europe
Oceania
Scientific members
Africa Algerian Association of Experimental Animal Sciences (AASEA) Animal Care and Use in Research, Education and Training (ACURET) South African Association for Laboratory Animal Science (SAALAS)
America American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM) Argentine Association of Laboratory Animal Science and Technology (AACyTAL) Chilean Association of Laboratory Animal Science and Technology (ASOCHITAL) Colombian Association for the Science and Welfare of Laboratory Animals (ACCBA) Uruguayan Association of Laboratory Animal Science and Technology (AUCYTAL) Federation of Hispanic Associations and Societies of North America, Central America and the Caribbean for Laboratory Animal Science (FESAHANCCCAL) Peruvian Association for Animal Use and Welfare in Research and Teaching (ASOPEBAID)https://asopebaid.org/ Association for Laboratory Animal Science of Guatemala (ACAL) Canadian Association for Laboratory Animal Science (CALAS/ACSAL)
Asia Chinese - Taipei Society of Laboratory Animal Sciences (CSLAS) Sri Lanka Association for Laboratory Animal Science (SLALAS) Philippine Association for Laboratory Animal Science (PALAS) India: Laboratory Animal Scientists' Association India (LASA India) Thai Association for Laboratory Animal Science (TALAS) Laboratory Animal Science Association of Malaysia (LASAM) Japanese Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JALAS) Korean Association for Laboratory Animal Science (KALAS) Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV) Laboratory Animal Resource Centre, Korea (LARRC/KRIBB)
Europe French Association of Laboratory Animal Sciences and Techniques (AFSTAL) Italian Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AISAL) Portuguese Society of Laboratory Animal Science (SPCA) Finnish Laboratory Animal Science Association (FinLAS) Georgian Association for Laboratory Animal Science (GALAS) German Society for Laboratory Animal Science (GV-SOLAS) Laboratory Animal Science Association (UK) (LASA) Russian Laboratory Animal Science Association (Rus-LASA)
Oceania Australia and New Zealand Laboratory Animal Association
Associate members GlaxoSmithKline Virtual Bioterio Cerberus Sciences Charles River Laboratories CHUGAI Pharmaceutical Co Tecniplast
Union members International Union of Physiological Sciences International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology International Union of Immunological Societies
Institutional members
Australia COMPATH:South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute South Australia's flagship not-for-profit health and medical research institute
Brazil The Reproductive Biology Center (CBR) of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) Network of Animal Facilities, Federal University of Uberlândia
China Centre for Comparative Medicine Research-The University of Hong Kong GemPharmatech Guangdong Provincial Biotechnology Research Institute National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC)
Colombia University of the Andes (Colombia)
Egypt Alexandria University Cairo University
India Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer Syngene International Limited
Japan Central Institute for Experimental Animals
Spain Integrated Laboratory Animal Services, Autonomous University of Barcelona (SIAL)
Affiliates Asian Federation of Laboratory Animal Science Associations Federation of South American Societies for Laboratory Animal Science Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations (FELASA)
History
Growth in the number of animals used in research Following the publication of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" in 1859, and Claude Bernard's book on vivisection in 1865, by the late 19th century, animal research had become the predominant method of laboratory investigation. The early 20th century saw an expansion of laboratory animal use in vaccine development. In 1908, the poliovirus was identified as the cause of polio, and in the 1930s, mass vaccination campaigns using diphtheria toxoid began in several countries. Animals were also used extensively in the development of drugs, notably Frederick Banting's revolutionary treatment of diabetes using insulin isolated from dogs in 1921, and Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin in 1928, which led to extensive testing on mice. This period was also marked by an explosion of new synthetic chemistry, which necessitated large-scale pharmacological testing using animals as human surrogates.
While reliable global statistics on laboratory animal use are scarce due to the absence of systematic record-keeping, it is estimated that in the UK alone, the number of animals used for research rose from a few thousand in the 1900s to more than 2 million by 1950.
Issues with animal quality In parallel to the increased demand for laboratory animals came the urgent need for animal quality: the research community did not just require more animals, they needed high-quality animals, i.e. animals free from any disease or condition that might interfere with procedures and give misleading results.
In the early 1950s, laboratory animals were obtained from random stocks and assorted breeders and were rarely purpose-bred. Although some countries had implemented quality standards, they had not gained ground to the same degree everywhere. As a result, there were large national and regional differences in laboratory animal quality, especially in developing countries.
Creation of ICLA By 1955, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), together with the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS), and the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) had come to realize that unless steps were taken to address these disparities, vital progress in experimental biology and medicine would be delayed or hindered.
To this end, in 1956, these three organisations co-founded the International Committee on Laboratory Animals (ICLA) with the aim of increasing the supply of high quality laboratory animals worldwide. In 1979, the committee was renamed the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS).
ICLA's activities and achievements 1956–1979
Scientific symposiums In the early years, ICLA focused on conducting surveys to determine the use of laboratory animals and their associated problems in different countries. These surveys indicated that a large number of scientific and technical problems lay unsolved within the field of laboratory animal science (LAS). Consequently, in 1958, ICLA held its first international scientific symposium on "Animal Material for Biological Research", with the aim of bringing together experts to discuss best practices in relation to LAS.
Specialized training Another priority was the need for specialized training for animal technicians in LAS, particularly in genetics, nutrition and pathology. Accordingly, in 1963, ICLA began to offer scholarships for a week's special training in LAS in an advanced center. In later years, scholarships were awarded to enable young scientists to attend local, regional or international congresses as a way of stimulating career interest and improving the exchange of information on laboratory animal science.
Standardizing nomenclature In the 1970s, ICLA began to address the need for standardization of definitions of terms used in laboratory animal procedures. Many scientific papers were not consistent in the terminology used to describe the animals, husbandry and techniques used in their research procedures, which was affecting the credibility of the research. This led in 1971, to the first ICLA publication on recommended international nomenclature for outbred stocks of laboratory animals, intended for use by breeders, users, researchers and editors of scientific journals. Further work on nomenclature took place in 1993, when ICLAS published a standardized genetic nomenclature for rats.
Reference and monitoring centers Another factor affecting the credibility of research was variation in research techniques and control systems. To address these discrepancies, in 1971, ICLA established a Reference Center Program, whereby certain research organizations were designated as authorized research centers with approved techniques and control systems for particular lines of research. The first of these were ICLA Virus Reference Centers for Rodents, followed in 1973, by histocompatibility reference centers for mice, and in 1976, by reference centers for histocompatibility testing of anuran amphibians, guinea pigs and mice. Similarly, in 1980, ICLAS established its first Genetic Monitoring Center at the Central Institute for Experimental Animals (CIEA) in Japan.
Change of name to ICLAS During the 1970s, new knowledge in biology and medicine requiring planned experiments with animals led to the emergence of laboratory animal science as a discipline in its own right. As a result, in 1979, ICLA changed its name to the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) to reflect the organization's primary aim of promoting animal science.
ICLAS activities and achievements, 19801999
Transport of laboratory animals Involvement in this issue started in 1972, when ICLA began lobbying the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to improve transport conditions for animals. In 1983, ICLAS made a number of proposals to IATA to improve the transport of animals used for research and testing purposes. These proposals were well accepted and incorporated into the 13th edition of the "IATA Live Animals Regulations" published in 1986.
Legislation and ethics Work on legislation and ethics also started in the 1970s, when the Council of Europe (CE) began drafting a document on regulations for the protection of vertebrate animals used for experimental purposes. ICLA considered this document too restrictive and a real threat to research, and in 1974, created its own set of guidelines "Guidelines for Regulation of Animal Experimentation", which it urged the CE to adopt. After several years of meetings with European Commission (EC) committees, a new version of the CE's draft document containing most of ICLAS's recommendations, entitled "European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals Used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes" was finally approved by the EC in 1986.
Laboratory animal welfare