Regulations & Ethical Review

Considerations for implementing regulation of decapods in science

Decapod crustaceans, commonly utilised for pure or applied scientific research and commercial food production, have generally remained outside ethical debate. However, in the last decade many parts of the world have seen an increase in public interest in the welfare...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: Crustacean, Invertebrate

Citation: Powell, A., Agnalt, A.-L., Heasman, K. et al. 2024. Considerations for implementing regulation of decapods in science. Animal Welfare 33, e55.

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.

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.

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.

Why all healthy laboratory animals should be rehomed, no matter how small

This paper explores the ethical imperative of rehoming all healthy animals of sentient species after experiments have finished or when they have become otherwise redundant. We take into account disparate perspectives in animal ethics and see how they point in...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: All/General, Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Van Loo, P. L. P., Janssens, M. R. E. 2023. Why all healthy laboratory animals should be rehomed, no matter how small. Animals 13(17), 2727.

As the world turns: Identifying and documenting continuing education for IACUC committee members and staff

In this column, we will describe how the IACUC Office at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) identifies and documents the participation of IACUC members and staff in continuing education opportunities. The prioritization of continuing education (CE) in...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Wilkerson, J., Cavanaugh, K. 2022. As the world turns: Identifying and documenting continuing education for IACUC committee members and staff. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(6) (November/December), 36-38.

The legislative, ethical, and conceptual importance of replicability in farm animal welfare science

In this commentary, we discuss three replicability issues that are specifically relevant to research regarding farm animal welfare: (1) Legislative action, and its potential economic consequences, should derive from robust and replicable research to benefit animals kept in an industrial...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Nawroth, C., Gygax, L. 2020. The legislative, ethical, and conceptual importance of replicability in farm animal welfare science. agriRxiv 2020, 20203211980.

Unmasking the adverse impacts of sex bias on science and research animal welfare

Sex bias in biomedical and natural science research has been prevalent for decades. In many cases, the female estrous cycle was thought to be too complex an issue to model for, and it was thought to be simpler to only...

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

Citation: Nunamaker, E. A., Turner, P. V. 2023. Unmasking the adverse impacts of sex bias on science and research animal welfare. Animals 13(17), 2792.

Aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate welfare

Invertebrates are a diverse group of animals that make up the majority of the animal kingdom and encompass a wide array of species with varying adaptations and characteristics. Invertebrates are found in nearly all of the world's habitats, including aquatic,...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: Cephalopod, Insect & Spider, Invertebrate, Other Invertebrate

Citation: Lewbart, G. A., Zachariah, T. T. 2023. Aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate welfare. Animals 13(21), 3375.