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Perceptions of 3R implementation in European animal research: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-synthesis of barriers and facilitators

Objectives The purpose of this systematic review was to examine how the scientific community in Europe that is involved with research with animals perceives and experiences the implementation of 3R (Replace, Reduce, Refine). Methods A systematic search of the literature...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Louis-Maerten, E., Milford, A., Shaw, D. M. et al. 2024. Perceptions of 3R implementation in European animal research: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-synthesis of barriers and facilitators. PLOS ONE 19(3), e0300031.

Recommendations for measuring and standardizing light for laboratory mammals to improve welfare and reproducibility in animal research

Light enables vision and exerts widespread effects on physiology and behavior, including regulating circadian rhythms, sleep, hormone synthesis, affective state, and cognitive processes. Appropriate lighting in animal facilities may support welfare and ensure that animals enter experiments in an appropriate...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: All/General, Cat, Dog, Goat, Macaque, Marmoset, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Pig, Rat, Rodent, Sheep, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Lucas, R. J., Allen, A. E., Brainard, G. C. et al. 2024. Recommendations for measuring and standardizing light for laboratory mammals to improve welfare and reproducibility in animal research. PLOS Biology 22(3), e3002535.

Animal research regulation: Improving decision-making and adopting a transparent system to address concerns around approval rate of experiments

The use of nonhuman animals in biomedical research is regulated under stringent conditions, not only in response to societal attitudes towards animal experimentation but also because ethical responsibility in scientific research requires researchers and veterinarians to be more invested and...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Azilagbetor, D. M., Shaw, D., Elger, B. S. 2024. Animal research regulation: Improving decision-making and adopting a transparent system to address concerns around approval rate of experiments. Animals 14(6), 846.

Rethinking the utility of the Five Domains model

The Five Domains model is influential in contemporary studies of animal welfare. It was originally presented as a conceptual model to understand the types of impact that procedures may impose on experimental animals. Its application has since broadened to cover...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Hampton, J. O., Hemsworth, L. M., Hemsworth, P. H. et al. 2023. Rethinking the utility of the Five Domains model. Animal Welfare 32, e62.

The benefit of study plans to facility management

The introduction of the study plans has been a great positive for research at KCL by ensuring compliance and helping to promote the principles of the 3Rs. They have helped prevent non-compliance and given the animal facility staff easy access...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Laniyan, F., Pearce, C., Hammonds, J. et al. 2023. The benefit of study plans to facility management. Animal Technology and Welfare 22(3), 244–245.

The role of review and regulatory approvals processes for animal research in supporting implementation of the 3Rs

The NC3Rs commissioned this work towards the end of 2021, based on a concern that advances in the 3Rs often take a long time to come into routine use. Most research in the academic sector using animals is reviewed three...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Rawle, F. 2023. The role of review and regulatory approvals processes for animal research in supporting implementation of the 3Rs. Animal Technology and Welfare 22(3), 175–188.

Vivarium lighting as an important extrinsic factor influencing animal-based research

Light is an extrinsic factor that exerts widespread influence on the regulation of circadian, physiologic, hormonal, metabolic, and behavioral systems of all animals, including those used in research. These wide-ranging biologic effects of light are mediated by distinct photoreceptors, the...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Dauchy, R. T., Blask, D. E. 2023. Vivarium lighting as an important extrinsic factor influencing animal-based research. JAALAS 62(1), 3–25.

The least inhibitive, functionally effective (LIFE) model: A new framework for ethical animal training practices

The ethics of animal training procedures have seen dramatic changes in the last few decades, with a movement toward reward-based training methods. These reward-based training practices have also been directly impacted by the behavioral and animal welfare sciences, including their...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Animal TrainingAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Fernandez, E. J. 2024. The least inhibitive, functionally effective (LIFE) model: A new framework for ethical animal training practices. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 71, 63–68.

Don’t use it? Don’t lose it! Why active use is not required for stimuli, resources or “enrichments” to have welfare value

Current frameworks for designing and evaluating good enclosures and “enrichments” typically focus on animals' active interactions with these features. This has undoubtedly improved the welfare of zoo-housed animals over the last 30 years or more. However, literature reviews from this...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Decker, S., Lavery, J. M., Mason, G. J. 2023. Don't use it? Don't lose it! Why active use is not required for stimuli, resources or “enrichments” to have welfare value. Zoo Biology 42(4), 467–475.

Vivarium lighting and the new measurement metrics

In February 2023, a workshop entitled The 3rd International Workshop on Circadian and Neurophysiological Photometry was held in Manchester, UK to address the problem of light measurement in laboratory animal research. This workshop resulted in a consensus view of an...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Dauchy, R. T. 2023. Vivarium lighting and the new measurement metrics. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 11(6) (November/December), 16-18.