About I-CARE

The ethos of I-CARE is based on the Gandhian philosphy of 'AHIMSA' or non violence.The Great Mahatma said "I abhor vivisection with my whole soul. All the scientific discoveries stained with innocent blood I count as of no consequence".

Central to Mahatma Gandhi's vision was an impassioned conviction that at the heart of all life there is 'Truth' which sustains all creation; a 'Truth' which demands a personal response from each individual. He saw 'Truth' as a truth present in every person. In particular, he held non-violence as a basic tenet of this 'truth', a positive force that can bring about fundamental change at all levels. For Gandhiji 'non-violence' was the discovery of a new kind of power which has universal applicability. The core of that philosophy is the search for truth through nonviolence - 'ahimsa'. Gandhiji taught respect for animals as well as humans, a non-exploitative relationship to the environment, the elimination of poverty, the limitation of personal wealth and possessions, and non-violence applied at all levels of relationships, be it man to man, man to animal or man to environment.

At I-CARE, we would like to take the concept of non violence to every classroom and laboratory and there by introduce a new socio-scientific concept of non-violent teaching and research methods in Life Sciences education.

By bringing in this synergy of 'Ahimsa' in the teaching/ research of Life Sciences we pave the path for the establishment of a 'humane education system' and will hence promote the concept of The 3 Rs- REPLACE, REDUCE and REFINE the use of animals in education, basic biomedical research and testing.

The objectives of I-CARE are:

1. to proactively advocate, propagate and facilitate the use of alternatives to the use of animals in basic biomedical research, regulatory testing and education;

2. to sensitize technical, scientific, animal welfare personnel and students the ethical codes, scientific innovations and laws in the use and care of laboratory animals and the use of alternatives through contact and distant learning courses;

3. to function as an information and resource centre for alternatives in basic biomedical research, regulatory testing and education;

4. to actively liaise with regulatory authorities and relevant government bodies, for the use and implementation of internationally validated alternatives in regulatory testing;

5. to liaise with national/international councils/commissions, universities and academia to promote the replacement of animals used in education and the introduction of advanced and modern pedagogic tools such as Computer Assisted Learning (CAL), models and mannekins, self experimentation apparatus etc.;

6. to establish a library and loan system for alternatives in veterinary, pharmacology, medical and life science education;

7. to work to mitigate any form of pain, neglect and suffering of laboratory animals, by way of recourse to law, direct intervention, rehabilitation and/or any other form of assistance;

8. to seek justice in case of any violation of national/international norms/law/statutory guidelines in laboratory animal care and use;

9. to propagate the concept of the 4th R - Rehabilitation of laboratory animals and assist in the same;

10. to network with institutes/rehabilitation centers worldwide that invest time and effort in the care of rehabilitated laboratory animals;

11. to encourage, support and conduct behavioral/ethological studies on rehabilitated animals in order to study the physiological and psychological impact on experimented and caged animals;

12. to encourage the development of alternatives in education and research - tools and techniques, models, mannekins, cell/tissue culture and establishment of human tissue banks.