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News & Reports research
Government sets out plans to advance the use of the 3Rs THE use of animals in scientific research remains a vital tool in improving understanding of how biological systems work in both health and disease, and enabling properly regulated use of animals is essential to improving the health and lives of people and animals, and the safety and sustainability of the environment. So says the Government in a ‘delivery plan’, which explains how it will advance the use of the 3Rs – reduction, replacement, refinement – within the UK, influence their uptake and adoption globally, and promote an understanding and awareness of the use of animals where no alternatives exist. The delivery plan, which was published on February 7, has been developed in collaboration by the Home Office’s Animals in Science Regulation Unit, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Government Office for Science. It forms part of a commitment made by the Coalition Government in 2010 to reduce the use of animals in scientific research. ‘This commitment is not focused on baseline numbers which are influenced by a range of extraneous factors,’ the plan says: ‘Instead, it encompasses replacement, reduction and refinement (the 3Rs) more broadly, putting them at the heart of a science-led approach.’ A result of the commitment has been an acceleration of the uptake of the 3Rs both domestically and internationally, the plan says. ‘This success is based upon the premise that the 3Rs provide opportunities for high standards of animal welfare alongside better science, faster science, and more costeffective science,’ it says. The delivery plan explains why animal use continues to be necessary in research. It discusses the types and numbers of animals used and the broad categories of research for which they are used. It also notes that the Government is committed to being more transparent about what level of animal suffering occurs and to improving awareness and understanding of how animals are used in research and the impacts of the research. The plan explains what the Government is doing to promote the 3Rs and sets out the challenges to their wider delivery. ‘Many of these relate to the need for as yet undiscovered technologies, but others may relate to conservatism and a risk-averse approach to adopting change,’ it says. In advancing the use of the 3Rs in the UK, the key objectives will be to: 158 | Veterinary Record | February 15, 2014
n Support the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) and other funders in delivering high-quality programmes to develop engagement, uptake and understanding of 3Rs approaches; n Facilitate resource and data sharing and collaboration across industry and academia; n Ensure the 3Rs are at the heart of all relevant science, including the training of research leaders of the future; n Enhance the role of Home Office inspectors in disseminating 3Rs advances; n Enable targeting of the more severe procedures through recording ‘actual severity’; and n Improve awareness and understanding about why animals need to be used in research. Explaining how the UK Government intends to influence the uptake and adoption of 3Rs approaches internationally, the delivery plan says that the aim will be to engage with other countries to promote harmonisation of global regulatory standards that use alternatives to animals wherever possible. The Government will continue to support international initiatives by the NC3Rs and will also aim to provide an evidence base for where changes to international regulations that require animal use would bring benefits. In addition, it will work to end unnecessary animal testing for cosmetics globally. The plan also describes how the Government will go about promoting an understanding and awareness of the use of animals were no alternatives exist. A series of tables within the plan set out how each of the strategic priorities will be delivered, considering the specific actions required and the organisations that should take the lead on each. They also describe key milestones against which success will be measured and indicate expected timelines for each of these. Progress on the delivery plan will be reviewed in a year’s time. The delivery plan was welcomed by some organisations and criticised by others.
Understanding Animal Research, which promotes understanding of the benefits arising from the use of animals in research, said it fully supported the strategy outlined in the plan. ‘Animal research continues to be an important part of medical development,’ it said, adding that it would continue to promote openness and inform public discussion on the issue. However, the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments expressed disappointment at the lack of targets in the delivery plan for reducing the numbers of animals used in research. It noted that the numbers used in UK laboratories continued to rise each year and suggested that ‘the current promise to encourage scientists to use alternatives is a hollow one.’ It added that the law already states that alternatives must be used where they are available and said that it would like to see more investment in the search for alternatives to animal use so that more non-animal methods became available for use in biomedical research. The Dr Hadwen Trust, which funds projects that develop methods and techniques to replace animal use in medical research, said that it was disappointed that the delivery plan ‘does not go far enough to encourage the development and adoption of alternatives to animal experiments, over the reduction and refinement of animal work’. The trust said that placing the 3Rs approach at the heart of a scienceled programme for the UK did not automatically ensure that the best methods to understand human disease were chosen. It believed that the emphasis should be on developing new methodologies that were more ‘human-relevant’ and gave better scientific information that was ‘more applicable to humans and human disease’. n ‘Working to reduce the use of animals in research’ can be downloaded from www. gov.uk/government/publications/workingto-reduce-the-use-of-animals-in-researchdelivery-plan doi: 10.1136/vr.g1498
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 11, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Government sets out plans to advance the use of the 3Rs Veterinary Record 2014 174: 158
doi: 10.1136/vr.g1498 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/7/158
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News & Reports research
Government sets out plans to advance the use of the 3Rs THE use of animals in scientific research remains a vital tool in improving understanding of how biological systems work in both health and disease, and enabling properly regulated use of animals is essential to improving the health and lives of people and animals, and the safety and sustainability of the environment. So says the Government in a ‘delivery plan’, which explains how it will advance the use of the 3Rs – reduction, replacement, refinement – within the UK, influence their uptake and adoption globally, and promote an understanding and awareness of the use of animals where no alternatives exist. The delivery plan, which was published on February 7, has been developed in collaboration by the Home Office’s Animals in Science Regulation Unit, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Government Office for Science. It forms part of a commitment made by the Coalition Government in 2010 to reduce the use of animals in scientific research. ‘This commitment is not focused on baseline numbers which are influenced by a range of extraneous factors,’ the plan says: ‘Instead, it encompasses replacement, reduction and refinement (the 3Rs) more broadly, putting them at the heart of a science-led approach.’ A result of the commitment has been an acceleration of the uptake of the 3Rs both domestically and internationally, the plan says. ‘This success is based upon the premise that the 3Rs provide opportunities for high standards of animal welfare alongside better science, faster science, and more costeffective science,’ it says. The delivery plan explains why animal use continues to be necessary in research. It discusses the types and numbers of animals used and the broad categories of research for which they are used. It also notes that the Government is committed to being more transparent about what level of animal suffering occurs and to improving awareness and understanding of how animals are used in research and the impacts of the research. The plan explains what the Government is doing to promote the 3Rs and sets out the challenges to their wider delivery. ‘Many of these relate to the need for as yet undiscovered technologies, but others may relate to conservatism and a risk-averse approach to adopting change,’ it says. In advancing the use of the 3Rs in the UK, the key objectives will be to: 158 | Veterinary Record | February 15, 2014
n Support the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) and other funders in delivering high-quality programmes to develop engagement, uptake and understanding of 3Rs approaches; n Facilitate resource and data sharing and collaboration across industry and academia; n Ensure the 3Rs are at the heart of all relevant science, including the training of research leaders of the future; n Enhance the role of Home Office inspectors in disseminating 3Rs advances; n Enable targeting of the more severe procedures through recording ‘actual severity’; and n Improve awareness and understanding about why animals need to be used in research. Explaining how the UK Government intends to influence the uptake and adoption of 3Rs approaches internationally, the delivery plan says that the aim will be to engage with other countries to promote harmonisation of global regulatory standards that use alternatives to animals wherever possible. The Government will continue to support international initiatives by the NC3Rs and will also aim to provide an evidence base for where changes to international regulations that require animal use would bring benefits. In addition, it will work to end unnecessary animal testing for cosmetics globally. The plan also describes how the Government will go about promoting an understanding and awareness of the use of animals were no alternatives exist. A series of tables within the plan set out how each of the strategic priorities will be delivered, considering the specific actions required and the organisations that should take the lead on each. They also describe key milestones against which success will be measured and indicate expected timelines for each of these. Progress on the delivery plan will be reviewed in a year’s time. The delivery plan was welcomed by some organisations and criticised by others.
Understanding Animal Research, which promotes understanding of the benefits arising from the use of animals in research, said it fully supported the strategy outlined in the plan. ‘Animal research continues to be an important part of medical development,’ it said, adding that it would continue to promote openness and inform public discussion on the issue. However, the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments expressed disappointment at the lack of targets in the delivery plan for reducing the numbers of animals used in research. It noted that the numbers used in UK laboratories continued to rise each year and suggested that ‘the current promise to encourage scientists to use alternatives is a hollow one.’ It added that the law already states that alternatives must be used where they are available and said that it would like to see more investment in the search for alternatives to animal use so that more non-animal methods became available for use in biomedical research. The Dr Hadwen Trust, which funds projects that develop methods and techniques to replace animal use in medical research, said that it was disappointed that the delivery plan ‘does not go far enough to encourage the development and adoption of alternatives to animal experiments, over the reduction and refinement of animal work’. The trust said that placing the 3Rs approach at the heart of a scienceled programme for the UK did not automatically ensure that the best methods to understand human disease were chosen. It believed that the emphasis should be on developing new methodologies that were more ‘human-relevant’ and gave better scientific information that was ‘more applicable to humans and human disease’. n ‘Working to reduce the use of animals in research’ can be downloaded from www. gov.uk/government/publications/workingto-reduce-the-use-of-animals-in-researchdelivery-plan doi: 10.1136/vr.g1498
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 11, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Government sets out plans to advance the use of the 3Rs Veterinary Record 2014 174: 158
doi: 10.1136/vr.g1498 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/7/158
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
