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The concept of the 3Rs – Replacement, Reduction and Refinement – was coined in 1959, and since then, has become widely adopted by the scientific community. The 3Rs, also referred to as “animal welfare,” refers to an animal’s quality of life and the consideration of using animals for scientific purpose altogether. This principle does not mean to ban all animal experiments, but rather to carefully consider choices and alternatives where possible. As a result, more stringent experimental design undeniably improves the quality of science. There’s a fine balance between the search for scientific knowledge and the ethical treatment of animals. The 3Rs-Centre ULS in Utrecht can help researchers find this balance without compromising their science.

We work together with the Animal Welfare Body at the university to help assess all animal protocols that are to be submitted to the competent authority, the Centrale Commissie Dierproven for a CCD license. There are strict regulations and guidelines in place regarding animal use in science, and every scientist intending to use animals in their research must first demonstrate that there is no alternative, and that the number of animals used is kept to a minimum, along with any suffering caused.

To help researchers recognize alternatives and learn about humane treatment of animals, we’ve established, and continue to develop, three information databases, based on the 3Rs: FCS-free database (replacement), Interspecies database (reduction) and Humane Endpoints website (refinement). Access and use of all databases is free.

Replacement

Replacement refers to finding alternatives to animals, and many of these are already widely used, for example cell culture, computational modeling and imaging techniques.

About 10 years ago, we taught three international workshops on the ethical aspects of animal experiments and alternative opportunities, and based on recommendations from these sessions, we cultivated the FCS-Free database. This database helps researchers improve in vitro methods of eukaryotic cell culture, which is usually supplemented by fetal calf serum (FCS), which contains a lot of growth factors and protein.

The 3R-principle does not mean to ban all animal experiments, but rather to carefully consider choices and alternatives where possible.

FCS is obtained by heart puncture of the bovine fetus, after it’s been removed from a cow at a slaughterhouse. There are obvious ethical issues raised regarding the potential suffering of the fetus. In addition, FCS is a biological product and in addition to not knowing the exact components of the serum, there may be great variation between batches, posing challenges for experimental consistency and standardization. 

The use of chemically-defined media is becoming more common, and the database can help researchers find the right medium. It provides information from commercial suppliers and also extracts information from scientific literature, where formulation is published. We have now added a function to the database, so that, like TripAdvisor, researchers can review and describe their experiences with particular types of media.

Reduction

When an alternative to an animal model cannot be found, researchers are urged to keep the number of animals to a minimum. There is a fine line, however, between reducing animal numbers and conducting a good experiment. If you end up with data that has no statistical significance, the animals used will have been wasted.  

Our Interspecies database was originally established by RIVM and we still partner with them for their contributions and expertise. In addition, we’ve set up computational search strings to identify and add data from scientific literature. This database illustrates physiological, anatomical and biochemical data, including toxicology and pharmacology data in animals compared with values in healthy humans. Researchers can use these data to design their experiment with a relevant animal model, which is essential for efficient extrapolation of animal data to humans or other animals.

Refinement

Refinement refers to improving animal husbandry (housing and daily care) and modifying experimental procedures to minimize potential pain and distress of the animal.

The Humane Endpoints website teaches and helps researchers and animal caretakers to monitor animal welfare and identify humane endpoints for their animal studies. Input is extracted from scientific literature and from researchers’ experiences, and the website has been translated into five languages so far, as demand is growing. The website includes information for mice, rats and zebrafish, and we’re hoping to expand this to other species. We’re also interested in including livestock animals, which is important for veterinarians and animal owners.

Researchers need to register, as it is a closed website due to the graphical and video content for educational purposes. Visitors can be trained through information on the website, and we’re developing e-learning modules to be incorporated into the website.

If you’re wondering how you can implement one or any of the 3Rs, we encourage you to drop by for advice, bookmark our website, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter. 

Jan van der Valk
3Rs Center
Nieuw Gildestein
Yalelaan 2
3584 CM Utrecht
The Netherlands

Twitter: @3VCentrumULS