Introduction In Brazil, animal use in education has been a topic of academic study for approximately 15 years. Research papers have been publishing relevant data since the early 2000s, focusing mainly on undergraduate students’ perception of the practice. These data helped establish animal use as a con- troversial issue in the Brazilian educational con- text, highlighting the need for the promotion of a more-humane approach to science education. These conclusions were not only drawn from research studies. Students (mostly involved in ani- mal rights activism) of different courses made their cases for conscientious objection public, and successfully attracted the attention of the local and national media. In 1998, a biology student rescued a dog minutes before the start of a physiology prac- tical class, initiating a debate within his university that culminated with the implementation of a replacement method for the practical (1). Nearly ten years later, a student sued a university, because it refused to recognise his right not to par- ticipate in classes involving harmful animal use (2). The national media covered this case, which helped spread the controversy regarding this com- mon type of practice in biological and health science education. By that time, organised civil society (especially animal rights groups) was already starting to draw attention to this topic, effectively promoting humane education. The Nina Rosa Institute, for Humane Education in Brazil: Organisation, Challenges and Opportunities Róber Bachinski, 1a Thales Tréz, 1,2 Gutemberg G. Alves, 1,3 Rita de C.M. Garcia, 4 Simone T. Oliveira, 4 Luciano da S. Alonso, 5 Júlio X. Heck, 6 Claudia M.C. Dias, 7 João M. Costa Neto, 8 Alexandro A. Rocha, 9 Valeska R.R. Ruiz 10 and Rita L. Paixão 1,11 1 1R Institute of Promotion and Research for the Replacement of Animal Experimentation, Poços de Caldas, Brazil; 2 Institute of Science and Technology, Alfenas Federal University, Alfenas, Brazil; 3 Cell and Molecular Biology Department, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, Brazil; 4 Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil, 5 Laboratory of Anatomy, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, Brazil; 6 Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul, Bento Gonçalves, Brazil; 7 International University of La Rioja, Logroño, Spain; 8 Department of Anatomy, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil, 9 Department of Basic Sciences, Federal University of the Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valley, Diamantina, Brazil, 10 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Centre of Higher Education of Campos Gerais, Campos Gerais, Brazil, 11 Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, Brazil Summary — Humane education and the debate on alternatives to harmful animal use for training is a rel- atively recent issue in Brazil. While animal use in secondary education has been illegal since the late 1970s, animal use in higher science education is widespread. However, alternatives to animal experiments in research and testing have recently received attention from the Government, especially after the first legis- lation on animal experiments was passed, in 2008. This article proposes that higher science education should be based on a critical and humane approach. It outlines the recent establishment of the Brazilian Network for Humane Education (RedEH), as a result of the project, Mapping Animal Use for Undergraduate Education in Brazil, which was recognised by the 2014 Lush Prize. The network aims to create a platform to promote change in science education in Brazil, starting by quantitatively and qualitatively understand- ing animal use, developing new approaches adapted to the current needs in Brazil and Latin America, and communicating these initiatives nationally. This paper explores the trajectory of alternatives and replace- ment methods to harmful animal use in training and education, as well as the status of humane education in Brazil, from the point of view of educators and researchers engaged with the network. Key words: humane education, public policy, replacement, science education, Three Rs. Address for correspondence: Róber Bachinski, 1R Institute of Promotion and Research for the Replacement of Animal Experimentation, Poços de Caldas, Brazil. E-mail: rbachinski@id.uff.br ATLA 43, 337–344, 2015 337 a This author was awarded the 2014 Young Researcher Lush Prize.