Animal Research Policy

1. Policy Statement

Statement

We are committed to increasing our understanding of how arthritis and musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions develop and how best they should be treated. To achieve this, we fund a broad range of medical research, from research in laboratories to research involving human volunteers, from computer modelling to understanding the benefits of self-management programmes for people with arthritis. Where there are no alternatives, we fund medical research which uses animals but do so adhering to the most rigorous guidelines. 

Medical research using animals has made a vital contribution to advances in medicine and surgery which have brought major improvements to the health of people. Research using animals will therefore continue to be essential to tackle many of the unsolved problems in understanding and treating musculoskeletal conditions.  

We only fund research that uses animals where there is no alternative, that is well designed, legal, ethical and scientifically justified. 

We are committed to being open and clear about the ways in which animals are used in our funded research in our external communications. 

Scope 

This policy sets out the principles by which we assess, award and monitor research involving animals, as well as how we communicate use of animals in our research. 

Animals covered by this policy are any living vertebrate other than man and any living cephalopod, as detailed in the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.  

Key terms and definitions 

Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC): is an organisation that brings together and supports health and medical research charities to produce high quality research. To be a member we have to meet a number of eligibility criteria, which includes requirements for animal research policy and undertaking high quality peer review 

Peer review: is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies. 

Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK: The Concordat on Openness is a set of commitments for UK organisations to enhance their animal research communications. It currently has 127 signatories, of which Versus Arthritis is one.  

The 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement): The principles of the 3Rs provide a framework for performing more humane animal research. They have been embedded in legislation and regulations on the use of animals in research.  

2.Rationale

Objectives 

As a funder of medical research in the UK, member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) and signatory to the Concordat on Openness we must ensure: 

  • That the animal research we fund complies with Home Office legislation, regulatory and local ethical requirements.  
  • That there is no alternative, and the experimental design has reduced the number of animals required as well as minimised any suffering that may be experienced by research animals.  
  • We are open and clear about the ways in which animals are used in our funded research in our external communications. 
  • That we have a clear animal research position statement on our website. 

Key principles 

The UK has one of the most rigorous systems in the world for regulating animal research. Under this system, animals can only be used when there is no alternative.  

The UK requires permissions from both central government (Home Office) and local ethical reviews to conduct research involving animals. As part of this approval process, each medical research project using animals must meet the 3Rs standards. These are: 

  • Replace the use of animals with alternative research methods and where possible avoid the use of animals altogether. 
  • Reduce the number of animals used. 
  • Refine how animal-based experiments are carried out to minimise any suffering and to improve animal welfare. 

We are fully committed to these principles and all our research abides by rules set out by the Home Office and local ethical review procedures (see https://www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk/regulation/regulation ). 

We are a signatory on the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK and are committed to being open and clear about the ways in which animals are used in our funded research in our external communications. We have made the following four commitments: 

  • Commitment 1: We will be clear about when, how and why we use animals in research. 
  • Commitment 2: We will enhance our communications with the media and the public about our research using animals. 
  • Commitment 3: We will be proactive in providing opportunities for the public to find out about research using animals. 
  • Commitment 4: We will report on progress annually to Understanding Animal Research and share our experiences (https://www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk/ ) 

As a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) we must fulfil a number of requirements for implementing animal research policy. We are expected to ensure the research we fund meets the 3RS standard through our assessment process (peer review) and expectations of our award holders as set out in a terms and conditions. We provide AMRC with details of the use of animals in the research we fund via annual data collection. We also publicly support AMRC’s position statement on the use of animals in research.  

3.Making it Happen

  • Our research application forms contain a range of questions on the use of animals to support the assessment of whether the research is legal, ethical and scientifically justified by external experts.  
  • As a medical research funder and member of AMRC, we have a number of expectations with regard to the responsible use of animals in bioscience research. The document was produced by the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) in collaboration with a number of funding bodies. It provides guidance to researchers and associated animal care staff using vertebrates and cephalopods in research, as well as the responsibilities of ethics committees and peer reviewers assessing applications for funding. 
  • Researchers are asked to use the NC3Rs Experimental Design Assistant and Arrive guidelines when designing their experiments.  
  • Going forward, and in line with our commitment to Equality, diversity and inclusion, we will also adhere to the most current and ethical guidelines on ensuring there is no gender bias in experimental design, including those involving animals. We expect to align with best practice in the sector such as UKRI’s latest guidance on sex in experimental design. 
  • They must have the relevant regulatory approvals in place before the award starts. 
  • Applications are reviewed by experts in animal research. For applications that involve a large number of animals or cats, dogs, Equidae (animals of the horse family) or non-human primates, we seek an additional independent review service by NC3Rs.  
  • Once an award starts, researchers report progress on an annual basis.  
  • In preparing manuscripts, researchers are encouraged to meet the ARRIVE guidelines to improve transparency and reproducibility of animal research. Wherever possible we expect our research to choose a journal to publish in that ensures the work is available immediately on publication.  
  • In our communication of research projects we fund and their findings, we are clear when, how and why animals in research.   

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