The Evolution of Animal Use in Research

1822 British anticruelty act introduced by Richard Martin. He later founded the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)

1859 Charles Darwin publishes the theory of evolution

1866 Henry Bergh founds ASPCA in U.S.

1876 British Cruelty to Animals Act regulates animal experimentation

1885 Louis Pasteur develops rabies vaccine

1891 Diphtheria antitoxin produced

Tetanus antitoxin found

1951 Christine Stevens founds Animal Welfare Institute in U.S.

1952 Jonas Salk develops killed-virus polio vaccine

1954 Humane Society of the U.S. founded

1953 Albert Sabin develops live, attenuated polio vaccine

1959 William M. S. Russell and Rex L. Burch state three Rs of animal experimentation

1966 Animal Welfare Act (AWA) passed in the U.S.

1969 Dorothy Hegarty founds Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments in U.K.

1970 Amendments to AWA cover warm-blooded animals and require pain relief

1975 Peter Singer publishes animal-liberation philosophy

1981 Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing founded in U.S.

1985 Amendments to AWA result from Silver Spring, Md., and Pennsylvania primate exposés

1992 European Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods founded

1993 First World Congress on Alternatives held in the U.S.

1996 Second World Congress on Alternatives held in the Netherlands