News

Published: 18 September 2024

Another success for the Eastern Europe project of Doctors Against Animal Experiments

The University of Forestry Sciences in Sofia, Bulgaria, has committed to refraining from using animals in two courses in the future. The university's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has officially signed an agreement to participate in the Eastern Europe project of Doctors Against Animal Testing (DAAE). In the future, modern, animal-free teaching methods, provided by DAAE, will be used. This will save around 500 frogs, mice, rats and rabbits from cruel experiments and death every year.

"We congratulate the University of Forestry Sciences in Sofia on this important step and are convinced that the students will benefit from the modern teaching methods," says Dr Dilyana Filipova, scientific officer at Doctors Against Animal Experiments, who was on site at the signing of the agreement. "Our goal is to replace animal experiments and the use of animals in research and teaching with ethically acceptable and scientifically superior methods."

Bulgaria has the highest percentage of animals used for educational purposes in the EU. To counteract this, DAAE is working with the British organization InterNICHE (International Network for Humane Education) and the Bulgarian association Campaigns and Activism for Animals in the Industry (CAAI). The two organisations jointly organized a conference on animal-free training in Bulgaria's capital Sofia in 2023. On September 9, the first success of the conference was made official: the signing of an agreement with the University of Forestry in Sofia to replace around 500 animals in their curriculum with laptops and computer programs every year.

The Eastern European project "Saving Animals with Computers" is one of DAAE's most successful projects. Universities in Eastern Europe receive laptops, projectors and simulation programs. In return, they agree not to use animals in their curriculum. Since 2008, agreements have been signed with 79 institutes in 30 cities, mostly in Ukraine, but also in Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The cooperation saves around 60,000 animals from a painful death every year. The University of Forestry in Sofia is the first university in Bulgaria and the European Union to take part in the Eastern Europe project.

The Rector of Sofia University, Prof. Hristo Mihaylov, and the Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Prof. Krasimira Genova, expressed their delight at participating in the project and emphasized how important it is to provide students with an ethical and contemporary education.

The switch to animal-free teaching methods was made possible by a generous donation from the global network Labdoo. which provided 14 refurbished laptops. Computer programs and simulations on physiological and pathophysiological  topics were installed on these.

DAAE hopes that this example will be followed by other universities in Bulgaria and other countries. 

Dr Dilyana Filipova from Doctors Against Animal Experiments with the Rector of Sofia University Prof. Hristo Mihaylov.

Photo for free use, credit: Donka Kalcheva – CAAI