Animals in research: an introduction to ethics and the 3Rs

The 3Rs form the ethical backbone of the legislation under which research involving the use of animals is conducted in the UK. This means that they feature heavily in training for individuals to gain a personal licence (PIL) or project licence (PPL). However, animal research ethics and the 3Rs are an important topic for those that may not undergo this training and some individuals may benefit from a refresher on these topics during the course of their research careers. 

This workshop is designed to introduce animal research ethics and the 3Rs to any audience that may use animals as a part of their research or use data or tissue from animals and so require an appreciation of the ethical issues involved. It is designed to compliment rather than replace any similar sessions undertaken as a part of legislative training.   

• Audience: Graduate students or early career researchers.
• Format: Seminar with optional interactive component, in-person or online.
• Length: 60 - 90 min.

• Gain an appreciation of the ethical issues raised by the use of animals in research. 
• Understand some of the different ethical positions that inform the current UK legislation. 
• Understand that the 3Rs offer a common ethical framework and how they have been put into practice in contemporary research. 
• Be aware of the further resources available to put the 3Rs into practice in your own research. 

The primary audience for this workshop is early career researchers or graduate students. In the latter case this session can be incorporated into existing taught programmes, please contact us if you would like to discuss this further. 

The material is designed to cover topics relevant to any researcher that makes use of animals in their research, uses data derived from experiments that involved the use of animals or use tissue from animals in their research. This may be in addition to legislative training such as for a PIL or for students and researchers that do not require a PIL for their work but will work with data or rely on literature reporting work involving the use of animals.  

The material can be adjusted for more established researchers. 

The current legislation governing the use of animals in research in the UK is discussed, this will therefore be less relevant to researchers based outside of the UK but the principles are relevant to work being conducted anywhere. 

This course has no prerequisites. 

This material is typically delivered as a one-hour seminar but can be expanded with an extended interactive exercise typically adding an additional 30 min to the event. 

The seminar can be delivered in-person or online, with a preference for in-person delivery if the optional extended exercise is to be used. 

• For in-person delivery, a space with appropriate audio-visual set-up such as a lecture theatre or seminar room. 
• For online delivery, a list of attendees with institutional email addresses. 
• A minimum of 15 attendees. 
• To discuss these requirements or to find out more, please contact us. 

• A member of staff with expertise in the ethical review of research involving the use of animals to deliver the talk and answer any queries. 
• A pdf copy of the slides after the event for dissemination to attendees. 
• The member of staff that delivered the talk will also be contactable via email for further follow-up.