Animal reuse: balancing scientific integrity and animal welfare

Abstract

Research scientists and IACUC members are faced with the difficult task of balancing the necessity of using animals for experimental research and their mandate to protect the welfare of those animals used in that research. One way to reduce the number of research animals would be to reuse them, but the regulations do not specifically address this topic. To learn more about the reuse of research animals, the authors conducted an online survey of animal facilities involved in preclinical studies. Their results suggest that animal reuse is a common practice in the field.