「Refinement」を実践するために

抄録

What do you think of when you hear the word "Refinement"?

Is it the improvement of technical skills and knowledge? Or upgrading of instruments used in experiments? Of course, these are also a kind of "Refinement". However, they are "Refinement" from the viewpoint of researchers and technicians.

So, what is “Refinement” from an animal’s perspective?

“Refinement” should be the minimization of the stress of the animals in areas other than procedures absolutely necessary for an experiment. This is the "purpose of Refinement" Russell and Burch wrote about in "The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique". No matter how much experimental techniques are improved, normal biological reactions are unlikely to occur when animals are stressed, making it difficult to obtain reliable experimental results.

However, "Refinement" requires implementing a variety of changes depending on the purpose of the experiment. As Russell and Burch point out, “Refinement presents more formidable difficulties,” and researchers and technicians may often feel that this goal is more than they can attain.

This is where laboratory animal veterinarians and IACUC members come into play.

They have the role of proposing changes for “Refinement” according to the purpose of each experiment. They are constantly studying in order to make proposals that will obtain the desired experimental results while balancing experimental endpoints with animal welfare. If you have concerns about "Refinement" practices, please ask a laboratory animal veterinarian or IACUC member. Together, we can aim for better animal experiments!