CHAPTER 4: Refinement Alternatives: Minimizing Pain and Distress in In Vivo Toxicity Testing Check Access

This chapter reviews the benefits, challenges, principles and practice of refinement of the use of animals for experimental and other scientific purposes. Refinement is incorporated in regulatory policy, test requirements, preferred test methods and good practice. High standards of animal welfare are a pre-requisite for high quality scientific outputs when animals are used for research and testing, and animal care and use must be refined to minimize any resulting pain, suffering or distress endured to the least justified and necessary to achieve the scientific objectives. Refinement improves the science of programs of work using animals in toxicology, and enhances the quality of life of every sentient animal bred, kept or used for these purposes. It encompasses a range of measures which, by minimizing harms to animals and improving their welfare, safeguards the reliability, validity and relevance of the test results. The challenge, armed with increasingly powerful insights into toxicity pathways, mechanisms and animal welfare, is to ensure that the best animal welfare and best science inform policies, requirements and practices.