Research Animals

Rodent Research Welfare: The Largest Category

Rodents account for over 80% of all research animals used globally, and improving their welfare within research has the highest potential impact.

Key Facts

Over 100 million mice and rats are used in research globally each year
Standard housing often denies rodents nesting material, burrowing substrate, and running wheels
Mice communicate pain through facial expressions that trained observers can reliably score
Environmental enrichment in mouse housing improves research reproducibility

Welfare Considerations

Rodents in standard research housing cannot perform motivated behaviors including nesting, burrowing, and wheel running. Chronic mild stress from impoverished housing affects both welfare and research outcomes. The irony that stress from poor housing confounds research results means enrichment is both an ethical and scientific improvement.

What You Can Do

Support researchers and institutions that implement enrichment as standard practice
Advocate for funding agencies to require enrichment as a condition of ethics approval
Support development of validated rodent welfare assessment tools
Choose to fund research using non-animal methods where equivalent alternatives exist