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3R Principles

The document discusses the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) in animal experimentation, emphasizing the importance of minimizing suffering and improving animal welfare. It outlines strategies for reducing the number of animals used in experiments and refining procedures to lessen pain and distress. Additionally, it touches on the ethical considerations surrounding euthanasia in research and presents a case study involving the dissection of sheep hearts in an educational setting.

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4 views21 pages

3R Principles

The document discusses the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) in animal experimentation, emphasizing the importance of minimizing suffering and improving animal welfare. It outlines strategies for reducing the number of animals used in experiments and refining procedures to lessen pain and distress. Additionally, it touches on the ethical considerations surrounding euthanasia in research and presents a case study involving the dissection of sheep hearts in an educational setting.

Uploaded by

mwelasethandolwethu53
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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EDBS 311 – STS

(3R)

2025
Dr F Voigt
adopted from Dr Molefe and aDr Sanjigadu
• We should never have recourse to experiment in cases where observation can afford us the
required information.
• No experiment should be performed without a distinct and definite object and the
persuasion, after the mature consideration, that the objective will be attained and produce a
real and uncomplicated result.
• We should not needlessly repeat experiments.
• Should be instituted with the least possible infliction of suffering.
• Every physiological experiment should be performed under such circumstances as to secure
due observation and attestation of its results, and so obviate, as much as possible, the
necessity for its repetition.

… till it is sufficiently clear that the fact pursued can neither be proved by any other evidence
within reach nor by any more mode of inquiry (Basel, 2019).
Replacement
Conservation of physiological traits throughout the eukaryotes means that alternative non-vertebrate
organisms can provide valuable information where processes are shared with the model organisms,
enabling experimental biologists to embrace the replacement approach.

• Embryonic and young forms.

• The young forms of many species are not considered to suffer.

• Dead organisms.

• Cell lines and organoid cultures.


• Reduction’ proposes that researchers reduce the number of experimental animals
used such that just enough data and no more are obtained to give sufficiently
informative results.

• Experimental designs that incorporate stronger perturbations or support greater


measurement precision improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the data analysis (see
Halsey, 2007).

• This reduces the sample size. Put simply, cleaner and clearer experiments require
fewer experimental animals for the analysis to be robust.
Reduction refers to strategies that reduce the number of animals used in an experiment and

include:

•Completing a power analysis to ascertain the smallest group size required to obtain statistically

significant data

•Performing multiple experiments simultaneously so the same control group can be used for all

experiments

•Designing experiments so animals serve as their controls

•Using newer instrumentation that improves precision and reduces animals needed per data point

•Sharing tissues with other investigators after an experiment (Coxon, 2022).


Refinement is an integral component of improving laboratory animal welfare,
which is vital for healthy biological functioning and a normal behavioral
repertoire.

Refining procedures to reduce their invasiveness or the degree of stress they


cause, and perfecting housing and husbandry should be the goals of any
scientist.

However, some animal groups have received relatively little attention in this
area, resulting in less-developed tools or knowledge to assess their health and
welfare (e.g. pain assessment is highly developed for mammals compared with
other animal groups; Sneddon et al., 2014; Sneddon, 2015).
Refinement refers to employing methods that reduce pain or
distress in experimental animals and include:
•Improving surgical techniques to reduce loss and recovery time
•Modification of research procedures to be less invasive, painful,
or stressful
•Utilizing up-to-date anesthetics and analgesics that reduce
complications, stress, and recovery time
•Provide environmental enrichment (Coxon, 2022).
Advancement of the 3R are
ongoing on
• Ethics and society level in forms
of rules and regulations as well
as the public opinion on ethical
behaviour

• Innovation plays a huge part in


the form of ongoing
improvement and development
of new techniques

• As well as the improvement on


the implementation level
picture taken from
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterin
ary-
science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2023.1185706
/full
Euthanasia

Euthanasia, or humane killing, is the act of inducing death


using a method appropriate to the species that results in a
rapid loss of consciousness without recovery and minimum
pain and/or distress to the animal (NHMRC 2013). In research
projects, the need for euthanasia of an animal on humane
grounds may arise from unforeseen circumstances, or as a
planned endpoint.
CASE STUDY: Circulatory System

St. Smith’s High School approached Farmer


John to provide 40 sheep hearts for the 40
learners to dissect during a Practical in the
Life Science class on the circulatory system.

Briefly discuss how you could address the


3Rs of Animal testing in this case.

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