Replacement, reduction and refinement, commonly known as “The Three Rs” in animal research, are a central focus of the Australian code of practice for the use and care of animals in scientific research .

The following is an extract from section 1 of the Code detailing these principles. Investigators and teachers must incorporate these principles in their applications to the Animal Ethics Committee.

For information on the background of these principles and databases of alternatives to animal testing, please refer to the ANZCCART website and follow the link to the Three Rs .

Replacement
1.8 Techniques that totally or partially replace the use of animals for scientific purposes must be sought and used wherever possible.

Reduction
1.9 Each project must use no more than the minimum number of animals necessary to ensure scientific and statistical validity.

1.10 The principle of reducing the number of animals used should not be implemented at the expense of greater suffering of individual animals.

1.11 Scientific and teaching activities involving the use of animals must not be repeated unless essential for the purpose or design of the project.

1.12 Teaching activities must involve no more than the minimum number of animals required to reach the educational objectives.

1.13 Overproduction of animals bred for scientific purposes should be avoided so that the need to kill healthy animals is minimised.

Refinement
1.14 Animals must be suitable for the scientific purpose taking into account their biological characteristics including behaviour, genetic attributes and nutritional, microbiological and general health status.

1.15 The design and management of animal accommodation should meet species-specific needs. Special consideration is required where this is precluded by the requirements of the project.

1.16 Animals should be transported, housed, fed, watered, handled and used under conditions that meet species-specific needs. The welfare of the animals must be a primary consideration in the provision of care, which should be based on behavioural and biological needs.

1.17 Wildlife should not be taken from natural habitats unless animals bred in captivity are not available or are not suitable for the specific scientific purpose.

1.18 Investigators and teachers who use animals for scientific purposes must employ the best available scientific and educational techniques and be competent in the procedures they perform or must be under the direct supervision of a person competent in the procedure.

1.19 Projects should be designed to avoid both pain and distress in animals. If this is not possible, pain or distress must be minimised.

1.20 Pain and distress cannot be evaluated easily in animals and therefore investigators and teachers must assume that animals experience these in a manner similar to humans unless there is evidence to the contrary. Decisions regarding the animals' welfare must be based on this assumption.

1.21 An animal with signs of pain or distress not predicted in the proposal, must have the pain or distress alleviated promptly. Alleviation of such pain or distress must take precedence over completing a project. If this is not possible the animal must be euthanased without delay.

1.22 Scientific and teaching activities that may cause pain or distress of a kind or degree for which anaesthesia would normally be used in medical or veterinary practice, must be carried out using anaesthesia appropriate to the species and the procedure.

1.23 Pain management appropriate to the species, the procedure and the circumstances must be provided.

1.24 The use of local or general anaesthetic, analgesic or tranquillising agents must be appropriate to the species, and should at least parallel their use in current medical or veterinary practice.

1.25 Where it is established that the purpose of the project precludes the use of anaesthetic or analgesic agents to alleviate pain, the planned end-point of the project must be as early as feasible to avoid or minimise pain or distress in the animals.

1.26 Neuromuscular blocking agents must not be used without appropriate general anaesthesia, except in animals where sensory awareness has been eliminated. If such agents are used, continuous or frequent monitoring of paralysed animals is essential to ensure that the depth of anaesthesia is adequate to prevent pain or distress.

1.27 ‘Death as an end-point' (see definition) must be avoided wherever possible.

1.28 Scientific and teaching activities involving the use of animals must be of minimum duration compatible with the objectives of the project.

The Australian code of practice for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes 2004, (Section 1) can be downloaded from the NHMRC website.