A Survey of Knowledge of the Three Rs Concept among Lecturers and Postgraduate Students in Brazil

Abstract

The use of animals in science is a widespread practice, despite growing concern about its moral justification and scientific relevance. In this scenario, the Three Rs concept might be considered to be a motivation for the establishment of a new scientific approach to the use of experimental animals and to research itself. The main objective of this survey-based study was to identify the level of knowledge about this concept among lecturers (i.e. tenure-track professors) and postgraduate students in the physiological and pharmaceutical sciences in Brazilian universities. A questionnaire was completed by 185 lecturers from 16 universities, and 140 postgraduate students from five of these universities. The results indicate that the concept of the Three Rs is widespread among lecturers and students in the areas of physiology and pharmacology, throughout Brazilian universities, but that its interpretation generally attributes more importance to refinement than to reduction and replacement.

Development of alternative activities to animal use in pharmacology education

“…The 3 R's deal with the principles of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement guiding many countries in the use of animals in scientific activities. The 3 R's were first described in 1959 by William Russell and Rex Burch in the book called Principles of Humane Experimental Technique (TRÉZ, 2014). Replacement refers to the preference of use of non-animal resources whenever possible to achieve the same scientific goal.…”