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Use the filters below to narrow down our resources to those relevant to your role, the model you are interested in, or by topic area. Filters are best used by combining two or more to narrow down the results.

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30 results

Wildlife research

Guidelines on implementing the 3Rs in both field and captive studies.

Guidance

Skin swabbing for DNA sampling of zebrafish

Learn more about skin swabbing as a welfare refinement, and how to establish a protocol for skin swabbing in your laboratory.

Guidance

a zebrafish is held in a hand net and swabbed.

Chair training of non-human primates

Survey of the approaches used for training monkeys for chair restraint.

Guidance

Housing and husbandry: Rabbit

Information to help refine the housing and husbandry of the laboratory rabbit.

Guidance

Two white rabbits in a floor pen. The cage is grey and you can see sawdust and straw on the floor. The closest rabbit is sitting on a raised ledge looking towards a food hopper which contains hay and carrots. The other rabbit can be seen exploring the floor towards the back.

Housing and husbandry: Cat

Information to help refine the housing and husbandry of the laboratory cat.

Guidance

A technician with cats in a play area. The technician is wearing a white protective suit, mask, hair net and laboratory gloves. She is holding a piece of string which one of the cats is rearing up to play with. One cat sits on a shelf to the left, another is walking along the floor looking at the camera.

Housing and husbandry: Rat

Information to help refine the housing and husbandry of the laboratory rat.

Guidance

A rat accepting a treat, in this case a cereal cheerio snack, from a technician. The rat sits on top of a housing box within a cage (the lid is open). The technician is reaching in with a gloved hand, and the black and white lister hooded rat is reaching up to take the treat.

Housing and husbandry: Guinea pig

Information to help refine the housing and husbandry of the laboratory guinea pig.

Guidance

White guinea pigs in floor pen. Each enclosure holds around three to five guinea pigs and is separated with clear perspex partitions so the animals can see each other. Each enclosure has a silver box to create shade and shelter. The floor is covered in sawdust and straw.

Acute toxicity testing

Reducing and refining acute toxicity tests in the pharmaceutical and chemicals industries.

Guidance

A white mouse on a technician's gloved hands

Environmental safety testing

Providing an evidence base to refine and reduce the use of vertebrates in (regulatory) ecotoxicology studies

Guidance

Exposure and dose selection

Using exposure science to refine and reduce animal use, and support the uptake of new approach methodologies

Guidance

A lister hooded rat (black head white body) seen in a standard rat housing cage. The rat is standing on a plastic box and is looking out of the open cage lid.

Study designs for pharmaceutical and chemical development

Projects providing guidance to reduce animal use or refine procedures within toxicology studies.

Guidance

An orange gloved hand holds a pipette above a row of other pipettes on a lab bench.

Housing and husbandry: Hamster

Information to help refine the housing and husbandry of the laboratory hamster.

Guidance

Two hamsters in a cage. The floor is covered in sawdust. One hamster is towards the right hand side, the other is in the middle, emerging from a cardboard tube (enrichment). Both hamsters are red and light brown in colour.

Housing and husbandry: Mouse

Information to help refine the housing and husbandry of the laboratory mouse.

Guidance

Housing and husbandry: Dog

Information to help refine the housing and husbandry of the laboratory dog.

Guidance

Four dogs in a pen, interacting and showing amicable social behaviour. The two dogs in the background are nose to nose. In the foreground one dog is on his back with legs in the air, a second dog can be seen sniffing him from the side.

Blood sampling

Techniques for blood sampling in laboratory animal species to ensure the most appropriate technique is chosen.

Overview

Five needles with empty syringes on a pale blue background

Housing and husbandry: Ferret

Information to help refine the housing and husbandry of the laboratory ferret.

Guidance

Ferrets in a cage. You can see multiple examples of environmental enrichment including a hammock, red plastic ball, cardboard tubes and nesting boxes.

Forced Swim Test in Rodents

Paper clarifies that the forced swim test is not a regulatory requirement for the development of new antidepressants (NC3Rs & MHRA project).

Guidance

Housing and husbandry: Gerbil

Information to help refine the housing and husbandry of the laboratory gerbil.

Guidance

Gerbil is held by a laboratory technician in a gloved hand.

Refining rodent stereotactic surgeries

Amanda Novak (Edinburgh) presents advice on good surgical technique and refinements to incorporate into rodent stereotactic surgery procedures.

Webinar and video

Webinar title slide: Refining rodent stereotactic surgeries

Humane endpoints

Guidelines for establishing, implementing and refining humane endpoints.

Guidance

Best practice for animal transport

Guidance on the transport of laboratory animals, including non-human primates.

Guidance

A transport box used to transport live animals. A grey container with grills on the top and top section of two sides to allow good ventilation. Wheels on each corner to assist in moving the animal.

Archiving best practice

Archiving can provide a back-up to production colonies, minimise genetic drift, reduce the need for tick-over colonies and preserve valuable models.

Guidance

Single use of needles

Learn more about why the single use of needles should be standard practice and how to implement this in your facility.

Guidance

A rat being injected with a hypodermic needle

Mouse handling: Non-aversive methods in practice

Hear from champions based at facilities around the UK who have successfully implemented non-aversive mouse handling methods.

Webinar and video

A scientist using the alternative tunnel handling for a mouse