Make every animal experiment count

I am so delighted to by this quite revolution

"Until recently the only criticism of animal research came from antivivisection groups who persistently complained about a lack of transparency. Now criticism is coming from researchers too, with the recognition that not all aspects of animal experimentation are as robust as they should be and that something needs to change.

That is why we have published new guidelines aimed at improving the quality of reporting on animal experiments in research papers (see "New animal experiment guidelines issued"). These have been met with support, notably from the major funding bodies and many international journals. This is indicative of the new climate in which we operate.

Five years ago the guidelines would have been met with scepticism and accusations of increased bureaucracy from some within the scientific community.

The difference is that these guidelines come in the wake of recent studies, which reveal serious shortcomings in animal research. One by my own organisation, the UK's NC3Rs, found that key information was missing from many of the 300 or so publications we analysed that described publicly funded experiments on rodents and monkeys in the UK and the US."