Improving animal care
A focus on mice
Mice are the most commonly used animal in medical research, and how we provide for their welfare really matters both from an ethical point of view and because animals kept in better conditions lead to better science.
A growing body of research including Newcastle University studies, has shown that mice find being picked up in a tube, known as tunnel handling, or in cupped hands, called cup handling is less stressful, referred to as refined handling than using the traditional method of capturing them by the tail.
How is refined handling implemented at Newcastle University?
We only use tunnel or cup handling, known as refined handling, for mice.
In 2019, Newcastle University AWERB, the institution’s animal welfare and ethics committee introduced a policy stating that all those handling mice should use refined methods instead of tail capture when handling mice.
As this is now our standard approach, our animal technicians are working with other facilities to implement this with the support of the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs)
Our technicians are excellent advocates for how easy it is to implement refined mouse handling.
How have we embedded this into our culture?
Supporting people who handle mice, technicians and researchers, has been paramount in embedding refined handling and has helped them gain confidence with the practical techniques. We decided early in the process that we would train our people to only use refined handling.