The Shell animal testing standard

Shell companies are committed to:

• Ensuring that materials used or produced by their operations are assessed for their safety to protect the workforce, consumers, their neighbours and the environment against adverse effects.
• Taking steps to reduce to a minimum the number of animals used in the evaluation of the safety of their materials.
• Ensuring that, when animals have to be used in testing, animal welfare is taken fully into account.
• Supporting research into developing and validating alternate evaluation methods.

When undertaking assessment programmes requiring testing on animals, Shell companies will:

• Comply with regulatory requirements for the evaluation of their materials;
• Work with industry partners and regulators to share information and minimise the number of tests that use animals.
• Assess laboratories on the basis of their competence and regulatory compliance, including animal welfare standards, before selecting them to undertake evaluations.
• Monitor tests which are performed for compliance with animal welfare standards, and ensure that a minimum number of animals is used.
  

We summarise this as T-E-S-T:

• Test only when required.
• Evaluate the laboratory.
• Strive to apply the 3Rs - reduction, refinement and replacement.
• Track progress of research programme and monitor performance.