The latest EARA openness event, in Madrid, hosted by EARA member the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), last week, brought together researchers, animal welfare bodies, communications staff, and institution representatives, to discuss how to foster transparency about animal research in Spain and address public concerns.
Lluis Montoliu, CNB vice-director, highlighted one of the major misconceptions about the use of animals for biomedical research. “The public doesn’t understand that each animal use must be justified and approved by ethics committees, which involves a rigorous process with no alternatives”, he said and discussed how increased openness, through the Spanish Transparency Agreement, was trying to change this perception.
Sergi Vila, an animal welfare officer at the University of Barcelona and the EARA X/Twitter ambassador for Spain, addressed the progress made by the COSCE (Confederation of Scientific Societies in Spain) in their initiatives. He mentioned how institutions within the Transparency Agreement (TA) have clearer communication guidelines “The institutions under the TA display more comprehensive information on their animal research, just as the EARA 2024 website study highlights.”
EARA executive director, Kirk Leech, opened the event by emphasising the continuing role of EARA in actively promoting transparency. And referring to the EARA website study, Kirk pointed out that “nearly three-quarters of all institutions in Spain lack images of their research involving animals, leading to a reliance on often misleading visuals from NGOs.” He underscored the importance of sharing accurate and real images of animal research to challenge the sometimes louder sources of misinformation.
Josep Solves, a social scientist and media researcher at CEU Cardenal Herrera University, brought forward a unique view on communication, by describing his media work both in disability representation, both as a journalist, communicator, social scientist and as a patient. He suggested that highlighting the use of animals when discussing disabilities with the media and potential treatments or palliative care, could enhance public understanding of biomedical research.
“When faced with serious conditions like paediatric cancer, the knowledge gained from animal research is essential. The greatest comfort for patients is knowing that everything possible is being done for them,” he said.
The panel discussion, moderated by Nuno Gonçalves from EARA, provided a platform for the audience and speakers to delve into critical issues, with Kirk addressing current changes in the European Commission, such as the implications of the appointment of a new Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare and how this could affect biomedical research community, with discussions currently ongoing to build a roadmap for the phasing out of animal use in chemical testing.
Panellist Susana de Lucas, head of communications at CNB, explained how her department communicated about the use of animals. While Josep Solves replied to an audience member - who asked about the risks of over-exaggerating the rewards of basic research into disabilities - by saying that patients do not care if the solution is now, tomorrow or in decades, they only care that their condition is being deeply considered and studied.
EARA openness events, including discussions like this one in Madrid, continue to encourage a shift towards openness in animal research communication.
