Science, Culture, and Care in Laboratory Animal Research

Abstract

The need to refine, replace and reduce the use of animals in laboratories-the 3Rs concept" -strongly influences discussion and regulation of this contested area of technoscience. This special issue looks back to the origins of the 3Rs concept through five papers that explore how it is enacted and challenged in practice, and that develop critical considerations about its future. Three themes connect the papers in this special issue. These are (1) the multiplicity of roles enacted by those who use and care for animals in research; (2) the distribution of "feelings that matter" across species and spaces of laboratory animal practice; (3) the growing importance of "cultures of care" in animal research.2

When care is defined by science: Exploring veterinary medicine through a more‐than‐human geography of empathy

“…This idea aims to enrich the veterinary profession, which has, of course, already been at the forefront of animal welfare debates and is keen to address contemporary issues within this topic (BVA, ). Multidisciplinary research around cultures of care as is seen in animal experimentation (Bellingan et al., ; Davies et al., ) would similarly progress these debates. For veterinary medicine and animal welfare, this offers the chance not to fear what cannot be measured and to recognise that feeling with others can lead to a situated animal care that better involves non‐human animal experience.…”

“…We welcome this growing attentiveness to the liveliness of guidelines and handbooks, cultures of care, and licensing practices, which are as central to the imaginative politics of animal research and use as trans‐species relations. (Davies et al., , p. 13)…”

“…Davies et al. () continue by emphasising the importance of linking this sensibility to analysis of ethical codes and guidelines:

We welcome this growing attentiveness to the liveliness of guidelines and handbooks, cultures of care, and licensing practices, which are as central to the imaginative politics of animal research and use as trans‐species relations. (Davies et al., , p. 13)

…”

Cutting the Cake of Science and Policy

“…The first two parts of this book have charted the origins and development of the animal health, disease ecology and badger protection epistemic communities, their engagement with the new problem of badger/bTB, and the changing 'cultures of care' developed by these communities along the way. 102 Between 1971 and 1996, relations between the three changed from a collaborative effort directed at solving the new and urgent problem of tuberculous badgers, to open conflict between policy insiders and outsiders, and backstage tensions between government veterinarians and ecologists. The twists and turns of badger/bTB since the 1990s can therefore be understood as the outcome of intensifying epistemic rivalries, entrenched by the reorganisation of government research and policy following Krebs and the RBCT culling trial.…”

“But It’s Just a Fish”: Understanding the Challenges of Applying the 3Rs in Laboratory Aquariums in the UK

“…The relevance of human-animal interactions, relationships and bonds to laboratory animal welfare, robust animal-dependent science and ethics is widely acknowledged by practitioners, e.g., [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. How these are embedded in and reflective of wider social processes, relations and structures is also increasingly a matter of interest to social scientists, historians and ethicists, many of whom are also concerned to better understand how such broader societal issues shape the implementation and development of public policy and associated ethical frameworks, e.g., [9][10][11], including the 3Rs [12,13]. There is also thriving literature on the role of public opinion concerning the use of laboratory animals, much of which illustrates an interest in how species differences can mediate social attitudes and potentially structure policy priorities, e.g., [14][15][16][17].…”