Growing public interest in animal welfare issues in recent decades has prompted increased attention to the efforts to develop alternative, nonanimal methods for use in biomedical research and product testing. In A History of the Development of Alternatives to Animals in Research and Testing, the first book-length study of the subject, John Parascandola traces the history of the concept of alternatives to the use of animals in research and testing in Britain and the United States from its beginnings until it had become firmly established in the scientific and animal protection communities by the end of the 1980s. This account of the history of alternatives is set within the context of developments within science, animal welfare, and politics. The book covers the key role played by animal welfare advocates in promoting alternatives, the initial resistance to alternatives on the part of many in the scientific community, the opportunity provided by alternatives for compromise and cooperation between these two groups, and the dominance of the “Three Rs”—reduction, refinement, and replacement.
You can read more about A History of the Development of Alternatives to Animals in Research and Testing in A Significant Aspect of Medical History: A Q & A with author John Parascandola.
Series Information
Published in collaboration with Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, New Directions in the Human-Animal Bond expands our knowledge of the interrelationships between people, animals, and their environment. This book, like others in this series, will be open access.
About the Author
John Parascandola, PhD, taught at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Maryland, and served in the federal government as chief of the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine and as the historian for the Public Health Service. He is the author of four books including The Development of American Pharmacology: John J. Abel and the Shaping of a Discipline, winner of the George Urdang Medal, and Sex, Sin, and Science: A History of Syphilis in America, which won the George Pendleton Prize. He is currently an affiliate of the Department of History at the University of Maryland.
Advanced Praise
“John Parascandola has provided an expert and essential volume for anyone interested in the history of animal welfare in twentieth-century Britain and the United States. Parascandola’s history is impeccable, his writing engaging, and with the book’s focus on reducing and replacing animals in the laboratory, it is certainly the most important and compelling contribution to the history of animal welfare and experimentation in decades” —Susan E. Lederer, Ronald L. Numbers Professor of Medical History and Bioethics, University of Wisconsin
“This book presents a fully developed picture of the development of the 3Rs and alternatives from both personal knowledge, interviews, and historical records. It will be a wonderful teaching tool, and it is a very good and interesting read.” —Alan M. Goldberg, Founding Director (Emeritus), Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, Johns Hopkins University
“Nobody is better placed to write a comprehensive history of the alternatives concept than Dr. Parascandola. He has the necessary expertise as a professional health historian and, having raised two children who are now animal advocates, he also has the motivation.” —Andrew Rowan, President, WellBeing International, and former CEO, Humane Society International
Read the Book
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Note for Media and Book Reviewers
Review requests for this book may be directed to marketing and publicity associate, Janelle Boys-Chen.
About Purdue University Press
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