Animal Alternatives

Section 9.C of the Master Animal Use Protocol for Research requests information regarding a search for alternatives to potentially painful procedures. This is in accordance with Policy #12 set forth by the USDA APHIS requiring a "Written Narrative for Alternatives to Painful Procedures." (Policy #11 dealing with "Painful/Distressful Procedures" is also available.) Alternatives to be considered would include the "three R's": reduction of the number of animals used, refinement of procedures to lessen animal pain/distress, and replacement of research animals with less sentient species or non-animal models.

In addition to providing your search criteria on the AUP, also include a short summary of the RESULTS of your search.

There are several databases that can be searched for alternatives (besides Medline and Agricola). Searching multiple databases will improve your results, and simply using your usual search engines will generally NOT give you the alternatives you are looking for. Please visit the Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC), which lists a variety of useful search engines as well as other information on searching for alternatives. ("AWIC Tips for Searching for Alternatives to Animal Research and Testing" may be especially useful.)

Using alternative keywords in addition to those specific to your research may also yield more thorough results. The National Agricultural Library has an Animal Use Alternative Thesaurus to help your search.

Here are a few examples (* indicates multiple word endings):

The ACUC has also compiled a list of useful links to alternatives databases on the web.