This section will be used to publish resources for fish researchers and animal care staff.
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?
Ethics are also discussed in a separate section of this website.
3f
Discuss the learning objectives, if the animal use is for educational or training purposes.
General principles
For fish researchers