Refinement Alternatives

Refinement alternatives refers to the modification of husbandry or experimental procedures to minimize pain and distress, and to enhance the welfare of an animal used in science from the time it is born until its death.

Key to the implementation of refinement alternatives is the consideration of the entire lifetime experience of the animal, not just the animal's experience during an experiment. There is also evidence that refinement not only benefits animals, but also improves the quality of research findings. For example, the experience of pain and other distress is likely to result in physiological changes that may increase the variability of experimental results and/or decrease their validity.

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