Annual report 2023

CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD

The Danish 3R-Center has now been in existence for 10 years. Following several extensions prompted by changes in government and COVID-related shutdowns, the board has remained unchanged throughout all 10 years, with the exception of a single replacement during the last administrative extension.

The outgoing board has invested significant efforts in establishing the center, and many of the now former members have made valuable contributions in various capacities, including organizing symposiums, engaging in project work, allocating research funding, fostering an international network and facilitating the dissemination of the 3Rs within the Danish research community and among interested citizens. For this, I wish to express my profound gratitude to all board members.

On 1 April 2023, a new board was appointed for the Danish 3R-Center, consisting of three members (Axel Kornerup Hansen, Peter Bollen and Erwin Roggen) who have all been involved since the center was established in 2013, one who joined in during the brief extension of the former board (Birgitte Kousholt) and three brand new additions to the board (Lotte Martoft, Cathrine Juel Bundgaard and Terje Svingen). The new board has embarked on its duties with great enthusiasm. In addition to four board meetings, including allocation of research funding, the board has awarded this year’s 3R Prize, organized a symposium and an internal mission and vision seminar aimed at shaping a new direction for the center. While the longterm goal remains the ability to conduct research tasks without the use of laboratory animals, we must diligently strive to reduce consumption and improve the conditions for laboratory animals until that objective is realized.

Over the coming period, the board will seek to develop a long-term work plan for the entire duration of its tenure, setting out the initiatives that the center intends to launch in the forthcoming years. The focus of our work in the upcoming year will largely revolve around securing the center's finances. We have lost one of our major contributors because they have outsourced their in vivo research.

At the same time, a decade of research funding shows us that Denmark now boasts a strong and competitive 3R environment which generates high quality research results from the comparatively modest funding we provide. Setting aside a total annual budget of DKK 1.5 million does not truly reflect a Danish commitment to improve, reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of laboratory animals, and the amount stands in stark contrast to investments in other areas that are considered important in our country. It is our goal that over the next years, the Danish 3R-Center can contribute to continuing the positive trend in the use of animals for experimentation.

I hope that many will benefit from reading the annual report.

Axel Kornerup Hansen
Chairman of the board