PREPARE

Construct a lay summary.

In dialogue with ethics committees, consider whether statements about this type of research have already been produced.

Address the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) and the 3Ss (Good Science, Good Sense, Good Sensibilities).

Consider pre-registration and the publication of negative results.

Perform a Harm-Benefit Assessment and justify any likely animal harm.

Discuss the learning objectives, if the animal use is for educational or training purposes.

Allocate a severity classification to the project.

Define objective, easily measurable and unequivocal humane endpoints.

Discuss the justification, if any, for death as an end-point.

3-Ethical issues, harm-benefit assessment and humane endpoints

Each research project has its own set of ethical challenges, but the following general questions should be raised for all projects:

Have national or local research ethics committees already produced statements relevant to the research being planned?
Have the Three Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) been addressed, and will any advances in this area be mentioned in publications of the study (remembering that many databases only index the title and abstract of papers)? Which non-animal alternatives have been considered but rejected?
Have the Three S's (Good Science, Good Sense and Good Sensibilities) been addressed?
Does the proposed study have a clear rationale and scientific relevance, and what will be the next step if the hypothesis is supported or rejected?
Have the experiments been carried out before, and is any repetition justifiable?
What approaches to reduce distress have been considered?

Consider pre-registration and the publication of negative results.

General principles

For fish researchers

Will the project undergo pre-registration and will negative results be published, to avoid publication bias?

This page was updated on 31 May 2021