Our goal is to reduce the impact of science on animals and their welfare through developing more effective systems of ethical review; advancing implementation of all 3Rs; improving education and training; working to improve EU and UK legislation that regulates or creates a demand for animal use and monitoring its impact on animal welfare. Our specialist scientific staff work in a variety of ways to achieve these aims including:
 

Membership of a wide range of national and international committees and expert working groups, for example:

• Various European Commission expert working groups
• The Boyd Group

Identifying opportunities to apply the 3Rs through engaging with scientists and researchers, animal technologists and care staff, vets and others in relevant roles; visiting establishments where animals are used; organising working groups and conferences. For example:

• Laboratory Animal Science Association (LASA) - Education, Training and Ethics Section
• UK Joint Working Group on Refinement
• RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group
• NORECOPA working group on severity classification of scientific procedures involving fish
• RSPCA GA Passport Working Group
• RSPCA Transgenic Training Working Group
• RSPCA Resource Sharing Working Group
• UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group
• Altweb - the Alternatives to Animal Testing website 

Developing processes of ethical review, for example:

• Organising the annual RSPCA Lay Members Forum
• Working with LASA to produce guiding principles for ethical review 
• Sitting on local animal welfare and ethical review bodies at various UK establishments in industry and academia
• Running training courses on ethical review and the 3Rs in eastern Europe and east Asia

Inputting into consultations, both for government and non-governmental bodies, and following up, on a wide range of laboratory animal issues:

• Stakeholder meeting of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to debate the acceptability of cloning animals for food.
• European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) Public Hearing on ‘The need for non-human primates in biomedical research, production and testing of products and devices’.
• Expert input into the development of European Directive 2010/63/EU regulating animal experiments and Council of Europe Convention ETS123 Appendix A on laboratory animal housing and care.
• Home Office - Consultations on the transposition of European Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific procedures.

Presentations at conferences and workshops:

Staff are also regularly invited to speak at conferences and run workshops around the world for government officials, regulators, scientists, animal carers, members of ethical review committees and others. These usually address topics such as animal welfare, ethics and legislation. Examples include:

• 8th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences.
• 11th Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations (FELASA) congress.
• 4th Asian Federation for Laboratory Animal Science (AFLAS) congress.
• 3rd East Mediterranean International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) Symposium.
• Laboratory Animal Science Association (LASA) UK Winter Meeting 2012.
• Also see 'Working internationally'.