Policy for using animals in research and education at the University of Southampton

Please find the full and current version of the University of Southampton policy for Using animals in research and education linked for your interest.

The University of Southampton is strongly committed to benefiting communities across the world, through innovative research and education and the continuous pursuit of excellence in all its work.

As part of facilitating advances in science and medical knowledge, the university uses animals in some of its activities, including research at the forefront of prevention and treatment of disease, international conservation and climate change, as well as in the education of future scientists.

All such activity is scrutinised using the 3Rs ethical framework: Replacement, Reduction and Refinement. This involves a commitment to only using animals when there is no alternative option, minimising their use by adopting and developing alternative techniques, and fostering a culture of care to ensure any suffering is minimised and good standards of animal welfare are maintained.

The university’s Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB) ensures that animal related activity is carried out with scientific rigour and according to ethical principles, including weighing the potential benefits of the activity against the likely harm to the animals concerned.

The University of Southampton believes that a good culture of care will contribute to better science, promote animal and staff welfare as well as staff mental health by recognising and implementing any areas where improvements can be made, support public confidence by means of openness, transparency and maximising the societal benefits from its work.

The University of Southampton are very proud to have joined fellow universities and establishments across the UK in becoming a signatory to the concordat to support research integrity.