3Rs - search page

EU 3Rs databases-The protection and welfare of animals is an area covered by a wide range of EU legislation. This includes the protection of wildlife, zoo animals, farm animals, animals in transport and animals used for scientific purposes. Animal studies, whether for the development or production of new medicines, for physiological studies, for studying environmental effects or for the testing of chemicals or new food additives, has to be carried out in compliance with EU legislation. 

Vaccination of animals against disease protects them from suffering. However, this comes with an animal welfare cost - the safety and efficacy of vaccines is assessed in experimental animals and the tests involved can cause significant pain and distress. There is an ethical dilemma in protecting one set of animals at the expense of others but implementation of the 3Rs can help to resolve this. The research animals department works with researchers involved in vaccine testing and regulators to promote the 3Rs in this important area.

Welcome to the Experimental Design Assistant, a free resource from the NC3Rs to support researchers in the planning of animal experiments - ensuring robust study design and reliable and reproducible findings.

The EDA consists of a web application and a supporting website; benefits include:
•The ability to build a stepwise visual representation of your experiment
•Feedback and advice on your experimental plan 
•Dedicated support for randomisation, blinding and sample size calculation
•Practical information to improve knowledge of experimental design
•Improved transparency of your experimental design, allowing you to share and discuss your plan with colleagues and collaborators

Guiding principles on good practice for Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies (2015) (PDF 1.76MB). Developed and published jointly by the RSPCA and the Laboratory Animal Science Association (LASA), this resource aims to help in the efficient and effective operation of local animal welfare and ethical review bodies.

Initiate activities that may lead to the immediate implementation of the 3Rs.

 Find Human tissue samples online using the UKCRC Tissue Directory.

This section of the Three Rs microsite provides useful links and information to help visitors easily find a wide range of resources.

The University of Minnesota community strives to meet the highest ethical standards in the planning and conduct of research.

By generating and making public data that indicates how cells respond to various genetic and environmental stressors, the LINCS project will help us gain a more detailed understanding of cell pathways and aid efforts to develop therapies.

The Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law is an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals and is based in Cambridge, UK. The Centre builds on the success of the Talking Animals, Law & Philosophy series which has become a renowned forum for exchange of research in animal rights law ever since its inception in 2015.