Replacing, Reducing and Refining Procedures in Animal Research

The scientific and logistical limitations incurred by the use of animal models of humans within bio- medical research and toxicity testing are substantial, and increasingly recognized; as is social concern about, and consequent regulatory restriction of, laboratory animal use. In defiance of these factors, such use remains enormous. Based on best estimates, 11,154,961 living non-human vertebrates were subjected to fundamental or medically-applied biomedical research, toxicity testing, or educational use, within Japan, in 2004; which was second only to the US. Additionally, the use of geneti- cally-modified animals, and the implementation of large-scale chemical testing programs, are increas- ing laboratory animal use internationally. These trends demonstrate the need for considerably greater awareness of, and compliance with, the principles of the 3Rs␣namely, the replacement, reduction and refinement of laboratory animal use␣within governmental, academic and commercial sectors. These principles are widely recognized as essential to good laboratory animal practice. They may increase research quality and the robustness of outcomes, result in reduced timeframes and resource consump- tion, and jointly benefit consumers, industry and laboratory animals. An overview of 3Rs principles, and of strategies likely to increase their implementation, is therefore provided. Combinations of such strategies may have synergistic effects, improving both scientific outcomes and animal welfare.

Laboratory Animals, 1998

Whatever view is taken of the morality of using animals in scientific research and safety testing, it can generally be agreed that so long as such use continues, every effort should be made to keep animal suffering to a minimum. This is the thinking behind the 'Three Rs' of refinement, reduction and replacement of laboratory animal use. This paper concerns refinement. We recognize that the Three Rs are taken very seriously in many countries of the world [see for example a recent editorial in the journal Science (Goldberg et al. 1996)] and, although we have written this paper from our own perspective in the UK, its principles are generally applicable.

International Journal of Biological Innovations, 2019

The discovery of new drugs involves their testing on animals for efficacy as well as safety before the approval. Millions of animals are being sacrificed to fulfill this need. But experimentation on animals during the past years has created a matter of attention to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for better care and handling of animals. The main aim of these committees is to reduce and finally exclude the animal use from the area of research with appropriate alternatives. Various alternative methods and organisms have been implemented and used respectively in this aspect in the last few years. Alternatives of animals serve the same purpose as that of utilizing whole animal for testing. The techniques such as in vitro method, computer model, stem cell, alternative organisms, use of biotechnology etc. might eventually replace the use of animals for testing and these approaches may provide an insight to minimum utilization of animals in s cientific research. Some alternatives of animal testing have been discussed in this article with some examples.

International journal of immunopathology and pharmacology, 2016

Animal experiments that are conducted worldwide contribute to significant findings and breakthroughs in the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of various diseases, bringing up appropriate clinical interventions. However, their predictive value is often low, leading to translational failure. Problems like translational failure of animal studies and poorly designed animal experiments lead to loss of animal lives and less translatable data which affect research outcomes ethically and economically. Due to increasing complexities in animal usage with changes in public perception and stringent guidelines, it is becoming difficult to use animals for conducting studies. This review deals with challenges like poor experimental design and ethical concerns and discusses key concepts like sample size, statistics in experimental design, humane endpoints, economic assessment, species difference, housing conditions, and systematic reviews and meta-analyses that are often neglected. If prac...

PloS one, 2014

The principles of the 3Rs, Replacement, Reduction and Refinement, are being increasingly incorporated into legislations, guidelines and practice of animal experiments in order to safeguard animal welfare. In the present study we have studied the systematic application of 3R principles to toxicological research in the pharmaceutical industry, with particular focus on achieving reductions in animal numbers used in regulatory and investigatory in vivo studies. The work also details major factors influencing these reductions including the conception of ideas, cross-departmental working and acceptance into the work process. Data from 36 reduction projects were collected retrospectively from work between 2006 and 2010. Substantial reduction in animal use was achieved by different strategies, including improved study design, method development and project coordination. Major animal savings were shown in both regulatory and investigative safety studies. If a similar (i.e. 53%) reduction had...

Current Science, 2018

BMJ Open Science

Over the last two decades, awareness of the negative repercussions of flaws in the planning, conduct and reporting of preclinical research involving experimental animals has been growing. Several initiatives have set out to increase transparency and internal validity of preclinical studies, mostly publishing expert consensus and experience. While many of the points raised in these various guidelines are identical or similar, they differ in detail and rigour. Most of them focus on reporting, only few of them cover the planning and conduct of studies. The aim of this systematic review is to identify existing experimental design, conduct, analysis and reporting guidelines relating to preclinical animal research. A systematic search in PubMed, Embase and Web of Science retrieved 13 863 unique results. After screening these on title and abstract, 613 papers entered the full-text assessment stage, from which 60 papers were retained. From these, we extracted unique 58 recommendations on th...

BMJ Open Science, 2020

Over the last two decades, awareness of the negative repercussions of flaws in the planning, conduct and reporting of preclinical research involving experimental animals has been growing. Several initiatives have set out to increase transparency and internal validity of preclinical studies, mostly publishing expert consensus and experience. While many of the points raised in these various guidelines are identical or similar, they differ in detail and rigour. Most of them focus on reporting, only few of them cover the planning and conduct of studies. The aim of this systematic review is to identify existing experimental design, conduct, analysis and reporting guidelines relating to preclinical animal research. A systematic search in PubMed, Embase and Web of Science retrieved 13 863 unique results. After screening these on title and abstract, 613 papers entered the full-text assessment stage, from which 60 papers were retained. From these, we extracted unique 58 recommendations on th...

ATLA-NOTTINGHAM-, 2007

Standards for the reporting of laboratory animal use vary internationally, with many countries failing to record or publicise statistics on animal use at all. Of those that do, most record only live animal use, and fail to record the substantial numbers of animals that may be killed ...