Animal models are often costly and time-consuming and depending on the research question present scientific limitations, such as poor relevance to human biology.
Replacement refers to technologies or approaches which directly replace or avoid the use of animals in experiments where they would otherwise have been used.įor many years research animals have been used to answer important scientific questions including those related to human health. Minimising the pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm that research animals might experience.Īdvancing research animal welfare by exploiting the latest in vivo technologies and by improving understanding of the impact of welfare on scientific outcomes. Minimising the number of animals used consistent with scientific aims.Īppropriately designed and analysed animal experiments that are robust and reproducible, and truly add to the knowledge base. The NC3Rs has updated the definitions in line with common scientific parlance to highlight the importance of the 3Rs to modern research practices.Īvoiding or replacing the use of animals in areas where they otherwise would have been used.Īccelerating the development and use of predictive and robust models and tools, based on the latest science and technologies, to address important scientific questions without the use of animals. The 3Rs were first defined by Russell and Burch in their book The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique.
