The 3R principles and regulation of animal research
The use of animals in biomedical and other research presents an ethical dilemma: we do not want to lose
scientific benefits, nor do we want to cause laboratory animals to suffer”. In Switzerland, the majority of
animals (64%) is used in fundamental research and a minority (ca. 20%) are used for developing and testing
pharmaceutical and chemical products. The 3R-strategies (“replace, reduce, refine”) are “today widely
accepted by scientists as a moral obligation to treat animals humanely and if possible to use alternative methods
in experiments”. The national and international regulatory framework concerning the use of animals for
research stipulates adherence to the 3R principles[3-5]. In addition, Swiss law requires researchers to
demonstrate a favourable harm-benefit ratio to justify animal experiments[6, 7]. There is an ongoing discussion
in the fields of ethics, law and science concerning the interpretation of the 3Rs and harm-benefit analysis. Eminent ethicists have recently proposed a more elaborated, argued way how to balance social benefit and
animal welfare in this context