3Rs - search page

"The Design of Animal Experiments" is intended for all research scientists who use laboratory animals, with the aim of helping them to design their own experiments more effectively.

This website provides a series of resources to support the adoption of best practice for commonly used procedures in animal research.

The RSPCA  strongly promote fuller implementation of all 3Rs, and they recognise the work done by other bodies to develop and validate humane alternatives, and to address the current crisis with reproducibility and translatability in the life sciences.

• Replacement: methods which avoid or replace animal use - our principal goal

• Reduction: ensuring that the minimum number of animals is used to answer the scientific question, using effective experimental design and statistical analysis to optimise numbers and avoid wasting animals

• Refinement: reducing suffering and improving welfare throughout animals' lives, including procedures, housing, husbandry and care

Scientists at the ICR are increasingly using non-invasive methods to measure the size of tumours in mice – allowing the same mouse to be assessed several times and reducing the overall numbers

The term ‘welfare assessment’ refers to monitoring animals for signs of pain, suffering and distress associated with procedures and their effects, as well as to the day-to-day assessment of all animals to see how they are coping with their environment and to detect health or welfare issues. Indicators of positive wellbeing, such as appropriate levels of grooming and social interaction, should also be included when devising welfare assessment protocols.

There is a great need for valuable ex vivo models that allow for assessment of cartilage repair strategies to reduce the high number of animal experiments.

Blood sampling can be stressful for laboratory animals because of the handling, restraint, anaesthesia or discomfort associated with a particular technique

A resource from the research animals department on how housing and care can be refined to reduce suffering and improve welfare of animal species.

Designed to facilitate sharing-SEARCH and SEARCHBreast provide scientists with choices when determining the most robust and relevant models to use when studying human disease.

Good training in non-aversive handling has benefits for the animal, for the handler and for the reliability of data gained in experiments.