The current Act stipulates animal testing as testing conducted on laboratory animals for scientific purposes, such as education, testing, and research, and stipulates matters to increase the ethics of animal testing, such as registration of animal testing facilities and restrictions on the source of supply of laboratory animals.

However, the current Act does not specify the basic principles of protecting the right to life of animals such as replacement, reduction, and refinement, which are the 3R principles of animal testing, so there is a need to clearly define the basic principles in the Act.

In addition, punishment may be imposed on the animal testing facilities if the laboratory animals come from sources other than the other animal testing facilities, excellent laboratory animal production facilities or suppliers of laboratory animals, but there are no provisions to punish those responsible for the supply and use of laboratory animals not prescribed by Presidential Decree.

Therefore, this amendment aims to modify the subject of the application of animal testing to suit the purpose and supplement some of the operational shortcomings of the current Act, such as stipulating animals that may be used for animal testing, to increase the ethical standards of the operations.

Details

A. Add the use of the minimum number of animals necessary for animal testing and appropriate measures to alleviate the pain of laboratory animals to the duties of the operator of animal testing facilities (Article 6, subparagraphs 5 and 6 newly inserted)

B. Stipulate animals that may be used for animal testing in animal testing facilities and subject any person who uses an animal for testing in violation of the relevant provision to a fine of up to 2 million won (Article 9 (1) and Article 31, subparagraph 1 newly inserted)

C. A food, health functional food, and drug that has not used animals in experiments necessary for development, safety control, or quality control may indicate on its packaging or label, etc., that laboratory animals were not used in testing the product (Article 22-2 newly inserted). 

Stipulate animals that may be used for animal testing in animal testing facilities and subject any person who uses an animal for testing in violation of the relevant provision to a fine of up to 2 million won (Article 9 (1) and Article 31, subparagraph 1 newly inserted).