Refinement

The third of the 3R's – Refinement is any decrease in the incidence or severity of 'inhumane' procedures applied to those animals that still have to be used.

There are two key issues:

• To assess the impact of any procedure or condition on the well-being of the animal
• Strategies to eliminate or minimise that impact.

Guidelines and strategies to minimise pain and distress

Strategies to achieve the goal of refinement often need to be customised to a specific set of circumstances. With increasing knowledge and experience, a number of useful guidelines have been developed to assist in minimising the impact of particular procedures and practises. This is an area where knowledge is rapidly expanding.

The resources listed below, highlight the latest in these developments.

• Administration of substances
• Antibody production
• Behavioural experiments
• Blood collection
• Environmental enrichment
• Euthanasia
• Housing and husbandry
• Humane endpoints
• Induction of tumours
• Pain and distress
• Surgical care
• Transgenics
• Wildlife research