Fifteen government agencies unveiled a five year plan yesterday “to reduce, refine and replace the use of animals in research and regulatory testing,” according to Environment News Service.

Animals have been routinely used to test chemicals, consumer products, medical devices and new drugs for toxicity on humans, but new technological advances offer researchers the option of utilizing alternative test methods “that either reduce the number of animals used in testing, or refine procedures so animals experience less pain and distress, or replace animals with non-animal systems,” as ENS reports.

The plan took 12 months to develop and gave the public several opportunities to weigh in on it, including a public town meeting in Bethesda, Maryland, where the interagency committee that devised the plan is based.

Veterinarian William Stokes, director of the agency with the most ludicrously long name I’ve ever seen””The National Toxicology Program Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences””told ENS:

“By incorporating recent advances in science and technology, new alternative test methods can be developed that will benefit animal welfare by reducing, refining, and replacing animal use, and that will benefit public health by ensuring continued or improved protection of human and animal health and the environment.”

To learn more about the issues involved with using animals for research, visit the Humane Society’s website.