Abstract:

The 3Rs principle (Reduction, Refinement and Replacement) aim to guide researchers providing a systematic approach to addressing ethical concerns in animal research. The main objective is to achieve the total Replacement.

Our project explores incorporating the 3Rs principle in the curricula of universities, focusing on the perspectives and insights gathered from master and undergraduate students through a comprehensive survey. To grasp the current situation and a first step, an anonymous questioner was performed in February 2024 in undergraduate students of four year of Pharmacy degree (277) and postgraduated students coursing two different masters. Specifically, we included postgraduated students of who attend the course Advances in Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of Animal Testing or 3Rs (20, Drug Research, Development and Control Master) and Neurotoxicology (16, Neurosciences Master).

The questionnaire included general statements that students had to rate as disagree, somewhat agree, rather agree or strongly agree, on a scale of 1 to 4. Percentage of responses range from 34% to 100%.

Results show that undergraduate and Neurotoxicology students responded that rather agree or strongly agree (54.3% and 60%, respectively) with the expression “I associate the principle of the 3Rs with Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”, whereas only 35,5% 3Rs students responded that. Undergraduate students do not conceive that “Animals are only one model, not the model” because 62.6% responded that disagree or somewhat agree but the percentage reduces to approximately 20% among master students. On the contrary, when asked about the expression “Without animal, biomedical research can't achieve the objectives”, undergraduate students’ majoritarian opinion was that is possible (56.7%) while master students estimated that is not possible (up to 73.3%). In the case of the sentence “The largest consumer of experimental animals is pharmaceutical industry”, only Neurotoxicology students agree with it (66,7%). Finally, when asked about “Cosmetic products tested on animals are marketed in the EU”, students do not know that EU banned to market finished cosmetic products and ingredients in the EU which were tested on animals since 2013.

Finally, questions about if they have performed animal experiments and the expectation related to their potential research project and animal experimentation. Half of master students reveal that they have performed animal and, surprisingly, approximately 10% of undergraduate students. This aspect should be clarified as undergraduate students are not allowed to manipulate animals and special training must be followed. Finally, except 3Rs students, the rest express that they will use animals in their research projects (up to 61%) and without them it wouldn’t be possible to accomplish it (up to 85%).

The findings reveal that is necessary to introduce the 3Rs principle into university curricula to change the perception that using animals is mandatory for research projects. The possibilities to incorporate the 3Rs should be discussed when addressing new curricula but is urgent to promote them currently by encouraging critical thinking, developing practical sessions or conducting guest lectures or workshops. By systematically integrating the 3Rs principle into the university curriculum, students can develop a more nuanced understanding of research ethics and be better equipped to consider alternatives to animal experimentation.

Keywords:

3Rs principle, ethical research, university curriculum.