The path to greater transparency in animal testing

Yesterday, ZonMw president Arfan Ikram presented the research report “Better Science through More Transparency; Pilot study on stimulating transparent laboratory animal research” to Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf of OCW.

This research report describes the results of the pilot study “Stimulating Transparent Test Animal Research” conducted by ZonMw over the past 3.5 years on behalf of OCW. After the presentation of the report, there was time for a discussion with the minister and invited guests about the creation of the report and the results.

Reduce, refine and replace animal testing as much as possible

The government is committed to reducing, refining, and replacing animal testing as much as possible (3Rs) and to accelerating the transition to animal-free innovations (TPI). This requires a broad commitment in several areas. One area where great gains can still be made is the transparency of animal testing. 

Various methods and guidelines

Over the past few years, various methods and guidelines have become available that contribute to this. These include pre-registration of working protocols of animal research and following the ARRIVE guidelines when publishing articles; the latter is an internationally recognized checklist for checking everything that should appear in publications of animal studies. ZonMw wants to consult with other research funders such as NWO and the Collaborating Health Funds (SGF) about the possible introduction of new grant conditions specifically with regard to transparent animal research.