The 3Rs
The welfare of animals used in research is very important. There are good ethical, scientific, legal and economic reasons for making sure that animals are looked after properly and used in minimum numbers.
The people who work in laboratories – scientists, vets, animal carers – are human beings like everyone else and have no desire to mistreat animals. For many of them, it is their primary responsibility to look after the animals, and they work with laboratory animals because they are animal lovers. Many are also actively involved in developing scientific methods to reduce the need for animals or replace them entirely.
Good science and good animal welfare go hand in hand. If an animal is suffering stress or pain it could affect the results of the research. So it makes good scientific sense to house animals in the best possible conditions and make sure they get the best possible care from skilled and experienced carers. What animals need is not always the same as what people think they need, so scientists are studying which environments different animals prefer.
The guiding principles underpinning the humane use of animals in scientific research are called the three Rs. Any researcher planning to use animals in their research must first show why there is no alternative and what will be done to minimise numbers and suffering, ie:
- Replace the use of animals with alternative techniques, or avoid the use of animals altogether.
- Reduce the number of animals used to a minimum, to obtain information from fewer animals or more information from the same number of animals.
- Refine the way experiments are carried out, to make sure animals suffer as little as possible. This includes better housing and improvements to procedures which minimise pain and suffering and/or improve animal welfare.
Replacement of animals in scientific research
Non-animal techniques are often a spin-off from advances in science and technology. New approaches such as tissue engineering, stem cell technologies and computer modelling show promise for replacing animals in some areas of research. The pharmaceutical industry has eradicated whole areas of animal use by developing molecular biology, computer techniques and robotics to screen large numbers of potential medicines.
Even so, many alternative methods, such as cell cultures, often give only very limited information about what happens in a whole living animal.
Effort devoted to replacing safety tests has produced some notable successes, particularly for assessing substances applied to the skin. Other new tests are being developed, but progress is limited and difficult. This is partly because regulatory authorities take a cautious approach to safety testing new medicines and other products.
The National Centre for the 3Rs, set up by the UK government in 2004, funds 3Rs research and promotes exchange of ideas, information and best practice.
See also Alternatives and Replacements.
Reduction of animals in scientific research
Scientists have made a lot of progress in finding ways to reduce the numbers of animals used in experiments. Further reduction may come from more thorough analysis of the findings of studies already conducted (by ‘systematic reviews') and by improving animal models for certain areas of research.
Proper experimental design and statistical analysis of the proposed research project allow the optimum number of animals to be used. If too few animals are used then the results are not reliable and the experiment needs to be repeated, using more animals. If too many animals are used, the results are reliable, but animal life has been wasted.
All other aspects of the experiment must be properly designed and conducted. Good experimental design will minimise variability and reduce bias.
For more on good experimental design, systematic reviews etc see Experimental design & analysis
The National Centre for the 3Rs, set up by the UK government in 2004, funds 3Rs research and promotes exchange of ideas, information and best practice.
Refinement of animals in scientific research
Refinement not only benefits animals, but can also improve the quality of research findings by reducing the level of stress in animals. By law, any distress or suffering to an animal must be kept to a minimum. For example, anaesthetics are used for surgery, and painkillers are given as necessary afterwards. If animals have a painful or fatal disease, they can be humanely killed before they show severe symptoms.
Laboratory animals spend a lot of time in the animal house not being experimented on. Improving their living conditions is called environmental enrichment. Animals are normally kept in social groups, preferably in large cages or floor pens, with things for them to play with. Rabbits may get bedding material, boxes and tubes. Rodents like to have nesting material. Dogs like toys and a social environment. Monkeys like branches, swings, ropes and platforms. Their diet can also be made more interesting with fruit and other titbits, and foraging for it adds to their enjoyment.
Links
The National Centre for the 3Rs, set up by the UK government in 2004, funds 3Rs research and promotes exchange of ideas, information and best practice.
The Institute of Animal Technology represents animal technologists, who provide day-to-day care for animals in research.
Combining the 3Rs
In some cases, it is possible to develop a whole new way of conducting a test involving fewer animals. For example, the LD50 test was used for many years to find out how toxic chemicals are. Scientists developed better tests, to do the same job but using fewer animals and designed so that none intentionally received a fatal dose. The LD50 is now banned in the UK. And a recent review conducted by the pharmaceutical industry showed that much of the data from single-dose acute toxicity tests in rodents can be collected from other tests, meaning that fewer rodents are required in the development of new medicines.
Read more: The UK National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction in Animals in Research (NC3Rs) is an independent scientific organisation tasked by Government to fund innovation and technological developments that replace or reduce the need for animals in research and testing, and lead to improvements in welfare where animals continue to be used.
View this post on Instagram
