The 3Rs framework — Replace, Reduce, Refine — guides humane use of animals in research. Refinement — minimising suffering in unavoidable animal experiments — has made significant advances but requires continued commitment.
Research animals face welfare harms spanning the full spectrum of severity — from mild procedural stress to severe and prolonged suffering in cancer, neurological, and toxicology research. Refinement efforts have made real improvements: better anaesthesia, recognition of grimace scales as pain indicators, and improved housing. But systematic application of refinement remains inconsistent across institutions and countries. Every animal in research deserves the highest standard of welfare compatible with the scientific objective — a standard that is achievable but requires ongoing institutional commitment.