Information on Alternatives Databases

in the spirit of the three R's

Recent additions


Last updated:


These items comprise sources that were identified after the ECVAM Workshop in Munich, 1996, and are a supplement to the main list of databases.

The AltWeb Pain Management Database


Compiled by Dr. Tim Allen, Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC).

Source of information: The AltWeb Internet site.

Information on databases of relevance to veterinary medicine

Compiled by VetGate, a gateway to evaluated, high-quality resources in animal health. VetGate is created by a team of information specialist based at the University of Nottingham Greenfield Medical Library, in partnership with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the Royal Veterinary College.

The German Collection of Human and Animal Cell Cultures


A non-profit-making organization set up in 1989 within the German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, committed to the acquisition, characterization, preservation and distribution of a wide range of cell lines.

Source of information: FRAME News, May 1997, issue no. 42.


The American Type Culture Collection


ATCC is a global bioscience organization that provides biological products, technical services, and educational programs to private industry, government, and academic organizations around the world. The mission of the ATCC is to acquire, authenticate, and maintain reference cultures, related biological materials, and associated data, and to distribute these to qualified scientists in government, industry, and education.

Source of information: FRAME News, May 1997, issue no. 42.


The European Collection of Cell Cultures (ECCAC)


The European Collection of Animal Cell Cultures is a self financed part of the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research (CAMR). The collection is supported from a combination of sources, the UK Research Councils (MRC, AFRC, SERC, NERC), the Commission of the European Communities, the World Health Organisation and revenue from sales and the provision of technical services. The Collection accepts deposits from a wide range of institutions including industry and aims to provide as comprehensive a service as possible to its users. Further information is provided on technical matters and the increased scope of back-up services from ECACC.

Source of information: FRAME News, May 1997, issue no. 42.


The Nordic Information Centre for Alternative Methods (NICA)


The NICA was founded in January 1998 and will, free of charge, give information about alternatives to animal experiments. The centre is organized by the Scandinavian Society for Cell Toxicology.
Activities at NICA include:
The documentation and information activities are managed by Dr. Cecilia Clemedson.

Source of information: Information brochure from NICA.


Database on Refinement of Housing and Handling Conditions and Environmental Enrichment for Laboratory Animals: Rodents, Rabbits, Cats, Dogs, Ferrets, Farm Animals, Horses, Birds, Fishes, Amphibians and Reptiles

This database is compiled by Viktor and Annie Reinhardt of the Animal Welfare Institute, Washington D.C., USA. It currently contains approximately 1,100 entries.
Each record contains the authors' names, title, journal details and keywords, any of which can be used as a search category. A brief abstract is also included.
The database is available here.


Database on practical enrichment options for animals kept in research institutions

This database is compiled by Viktor and Annie Reinhardt of the Animal Welfare Institute, Washington D.C., USA. It was created in May 2004. It contains text from discussions on the LAREF mailing list.
This database disseminates information on LAREF enrichment ideas and practical tips and other practical published information on environmental enrichment for laboratory animals. Each record has four fields: Citation (full reference of the record, enabling searches for author, date, journal/chapter/proceedings/book, and title, using one word/date or a combination of them); Web (click on the Internet address to display or print the original article or a picture); Annotation (summarizes findings or is a full-text of the email message); Keywords (Search for one or several keywords, including species names, or browse through the keyword index).
The database is available here.


This page is provided by the server of the Laboratory Animal Unit, at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Oslo.