3Rs - search page

There are several stages to consider when planning and carrying out studies involving animals to establish, implement and refine humane endpoints.

The term ‘welfare assessment’ applies not only to monitoring animals for signs of pain, suffering and distress associated with procedures, but also to the routine assessment of all animals to check for any health or welfare problems

The careful selection of the method by which animals are killed is imperative to ensure that the animals are given the most humane death possible.

Considerable progress has been made over the last decade in preventing or alleviating pain. In particular, there is now considerable opportunity to minimise or eliminate pain following surgical procedures. 

Research by Dr Jeffrey Mogil and colleagues, McGill University, has demonstrated that changes in facial expression provide a reliable and rapid means of assessing pain in mice, rabbits and rats.

The website LAS interactive (LAS = Laboratory Animal Science) contains a wide range of information on animals in research and on scientific methods in animal experiments.

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

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.

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

A group of passionate enrichment advocates from academia and industry are the spark for this effort to ignite and excite the laboratory animal community from top to bottom.