Better animal testing
Research, including research with animals, is improved by Open Science. Open Science means that research data are made freely accessible (Open Access) at the earliest possible stage. It also means that research methods and data are shared.
This can lead to more reliable, efficient and relevant research in which fewer laboratory animals are used. Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht promote and support Open Science as part of their vision on responsible research. That is why both institutions signed the Code of Openness in Animal Research (in Dutch) in 2008.
As a researcher, you can take various steps to apply Open Science to animal experiments. The steps are visualised below and briefly explained in the text that follows.
Preparations for a study are the first step towards ethically and scientifically sound research. Each phase of the research project must be described, discussed, evaluated and communicated to all parties involved. This ensures that there is no doubt about practical matters, such as responsibilities for the various phases, the distribution of work and costs, and communication about the results of the research. These must be finalised before the research begins. PREPARE is an indispensable tool for achieving this. It consists of guidelines for planning animal experiments in a structured manner, in order to guarantee basic quality.
All researchers who obtain a project licence must comply with the legal obligation to write a non-technical summary (NTS). All NTSs are published in a central database, the AnimaL Use Reporting EU System (ALURES). This is to reach a lay audience and explain the research in a transparent and verifiable manner.
Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht have also decided to make the full project licences from the past five years publicly available.
The Non-Technical Summary (NTS) in Dutch is a mandatory part of the licence application. The reason for this is transparency about animal testing. The NTS is published on the website of the Central Committee on Animal Experiments (CCD), where everyone can see which animal experiments are carried out in the Netherlands.
Pay attention to the following
- Write the NTS in Dutch
- Use the CCD's notes to the manual of the European Animal Research Association.
- Think of a simple title [link to overview titles!]
- Be concise (maximum of 850 words)
- Use short sentences
- Use spell checker
- Pay attention to compositions that you write together in Dutch
- Do not use jargon, but use simple spoken language
- To find synonyms or explanations, use VanDale.nl, Wikipedia, synonyms.net or Google (search for “ meaning”)
- Do not mention names of persons, institutions or departments. Have a lay person proofread to check for comprehensibility
Compounds
Check for compounds that are two words in English but one in Dutch (for example, ‘blood collection’ is ‘bloedafname’, ‘medication use’ is ‘medicijngebruik’).
Combinations with an abbreviation or proper name are hyphenated in Dutch (‘MS-medicijn’, ‘Alzheimer-onderzoek’). You can also use a hyphen in combinations that may otherwise be less readable (for example, ‘leukemie-overlevingskans’ is more reader-friendly than ‘leukemieoverlevingskans’).
If these combinations get too convoluted or overlong, turn them around (‘het afnemen van bloed’ instead of ‘bloedafname’; similarly ‘een medicijn tegen MS’, ‘onderzoek naar Alzheimer’, ‘de kans dat iemand leukemie overleeft’).
Responsible use of laboratory animals requires rigorous experimental design with a sound statistical analysis plan. Free online tools are available, such as the NC3Rs Experimental Design Assistant, and via the Education and Training Platform for Laboratory Animal Science (ETPLAS), the Enhancing Quality In Preclinical Data (EQIPD) consortium and the website Responsible Research in Practice. Both Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht also make useful tools such as G-Power and RandoMice available in their software centres.
Creating a Data Management Plan (DMP) is the next step in the list of preparations before starting research involving laboratory animals. With the help of DMP Online (DMPonline 2023), researchers can use the various templates and receive guidance on how to complete them. A good DMP is suitable for ensuring safety and must comply with the FAIR principles: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable. The benefits of good data management benefit both the laboratory that has its data management in order and (animal) science in general.
Pre-registration – registering a research protocol before the start of the experiments – embeds transparency early in the research process. When registering their research protocols, researchers disclose their hypotheses, research design and analysis plan (in an open source) a priori. This increases the reliability of the reported results and reduces reporting biases (e.g. selective reporting of outcomes), questionable research practices (e.g. creating a hypothesis after the results are known, p-hacking) and publication bias, and enables data sharing. It also helps to prevent unnecessary repetition of animal experiments.
There are two platforms for pre-registering protocols for animal studies: preclinicaltrials.eu and the animal study registry. There is also a video on this subject. In addition, the concept of registered reports is emerging. Here too, you register a study in advance, but with the journal in which you wish to publish (follow the link for information and participating journals).
The study undergoes peer review before it is carried out. The reviewers also make suggestions about the design. This guarantees publication provided that the study is carried out according to the design, regardless of the outcome. It also prevents the need for additional studies or animals afterwards as a result of the review process. However, this means that it takes longer before you can start and you are bound to the journal regardless of the impact. Participating in registered reports requires commitment and flexibility from the Animal Welfare Authority, which we are happy to provide. So, if the experiment will be part of a registered report, please mention this in your WP application and discuss it with us.
By connecting with journalists and participating in public debate via online and offline media, valuable research insights and difficult ethical considerations can be shared not only with interested individuals, but also with healthcare professionals, patient organisations, animal welfare advocates and policymakers.
This can then lead to receiving useful insights from partners in society and makes science more open, as it opens the door to new contacts and collaborations, new input and ideas, valuable feedback and the opportunity to learn from critical viewpoints. For this approach, you can request support from your organisation's press officer or communications department so that you can get in touch with journalists or participate in the public debate.
In addition to communicating with the public and sharing information and data with your colleagues, we also encourage the sharing of surplus animals, tissue and physical materials. This creates opportunities for the optimal use of laboratory animals and materials.
As a result, fewer laboratory animals are needed overall, contributing to sustainability. In order to bring together the supply and demand for laboratory animals and animal organs and tissues, the 3Rs Centre Utrecht and the Utrecht Animal Welfare Authority initiated the web-based exchange platform for animals and tissues, ATEX. It works for live laboratory animals and fresh or preserved organs and tissues. We have made a video explaining how to use ATEX (in Dutch, with English subtitles).
If you have any questions or comments about the platform, please contact us. The aim is to roll out this platform nationwide. For occasional use or to carry out a 3R pilot, the AWB has a CCD licence for the use of tissues.
Utrecht Life Sciences and Utrecht Science Park have made a LABEX available for the sustainable use of other laboratory materials. This marketplace allows instruments, chemicals, disposables and other laboratory materials to be given a second life.
Sharing data is an important aspect of research transparency and integrity. It allows other researchers to see your work in an unprocessed format.
The easiest way to share your data is by using a data repository, either subject-specific or general. Sites such as Re3data or FAIRsharing can help you find such repositories.
Transparent and accurate reporting is a cornerstone of open science. If an animal study is to influence future research, policy and practice, it is essential that it is reported in sufficient detail so that its reliability and methodological quality can be assessed and its methods reproduced. Following the ARRIVE guideline improves the quality of a publication so that it can be used effectively by others, as a reference, but also for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The ARRIVE guideline (2.0) contains ten essential and eleven recommended points for publications.
The publication of failed studies or otherwise negative or neutral results is just as valuable to the scientific community as the publication of positive results. This can help to prevent the unnecessary use of laboratory animals, but can also contribute to knowledge of specific biological phenomena.
Every researcher should conduct scientific research with integrity, especially those researchers doing experiments with animals. We don’t want to provoke unnecessarily distress, kill laboratory animals because of poorly designed experiments, draw incorrect conclusions, or being influenced by parties who have an interest in the outcome.
The Netherlands uses the 2018 Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (pdf). This code incorporates the principles that any scientist or researcher must keep in mind: honesty, scrupulousness, transparency, independence and responsibility.
Good intentions are no guarantee
Don’t assume that just because your intentions are good you’ll always follow these principles. To stay alert to possible mistakes, an understanding of the common pitfalls is essential. Read the code of conduct thoroughly.
Confidential advisor
You can always come to a confidential advisor if you need advice or wish to report any doubts about scientific integrity in your own research or that of someone else. This advisor can be found on your organisation’s intranet.
For more matters involving behaviour within Utrecht University and the UMC Utrecht, there is a separate (also confidential) Professional Behaviour and Animal Welfare help desk.