The national centre for the replacement, refinement, and reduction of animals in research

The widespread use of animals has brought to the fore the issue of possible suffering endured by animals during experiments and how this outweighs the potential benefits of animal research.In most countries, strict regulations govern the use of animals, this ensures that animals are used only when necessary and are properly handled before, during, and after experiments. This modality has also given impetus to the development and use of non-animal ‘alternative’ methods including the study of cells and tissues grown in the laboratory, computer-modeled systems, and human patients, volunteers or populations.