Following the enactment of the Animal Protection Ordinance, the 3R Research Foundation was created in 1987 to promote the “Three Rs” (3Rs) in animal research. The 3Rs stand for Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement. The Swiss 3R Competence Centre (3RCC) was established in 2018 as a joint initiative by academia, industry, regulatory bodies, the government, and animal welfare associations. The founders of the 3R principle, William Russel and Rex Burch, introduced their proposal in 1959 with the aim of protecting animals used in research. The 3R principle has since then established itself worldwide as the foundation of an ethical approach to animal testing and is an integral part of today’s Swiss research landscape. For each experiment using animals, researchers must verify there is no viable replacement and ensure that the number of animals used is kept to a minimum; moreover, procedures must be refined not only to avoid or minimise pain, distress, and other adverse effects, but also to enhance animal well-being. The 3R principle formed the basis for the Swiss legal framework regulating animal experimentation.

Over the course of the long history of using animals in research, Swiss society has become more protective of animals and more sensitive towards their welfare; at the same time, the lack of transparency and proactive communication through the research community has led to one-sided information about how and why animal research is carried out. Because the Swiss political system allows people to express their concerns through popular initiatives, one result of this lopsided information status is that several initiatives against animal experimentation have been submitted since 1985, all of which, however, have been rejected at the ballot box. Nevertheless, they have contributed to a cultural shift marked by improved interactions and exchanges between researchers and society and have generated greater understanding in the public as well as more careful integration of ethical consideration among researchers.

In 2022, swissuniversities drew up the Swiss Transparency Agreement on Animal Research (STAAR) to sustain and further promote public trust in animal research in Switzerland.

The overall objective of STAAR is to improve communication and transparency regarding the use of animals in research, with its members committing to openness and dialogue with the public. Moreover, STAAR aims to anchor communication on animal experimentation in current practice and to enhance and expand existing coordination measures and networks at the national level. With its specific focus on improving communication in animal research and related efforts, STAAR requires its members to report progress towards greater transparency and identify gaps and setbacks in this process.

In becoming signatories to STAAR, members agree to be transparent about their use, or their support for the use, of animals in research by pursuing and upholding the following four key commitments:

A list of specific objectives derived from the four commitments is also defined each year by the Plenary Assembly. These specific objectives comprise more concrete actions that the signatories agree to pursue and implement. It is expected that the objectives will evolve over time and thus change. The following objectives (the so-called “STAAR Standards”) were adopted for 2022 until mid-2023:

While staff working with animals are informed about the use of animals at their institution, this is not necessarily the case for employees whose work does not concern animal research; they therefore represent a potential target audience for transparency activities. This question specifically addresses transparency vis-à-vis employees not directly involved in animal research. Informing all employees has a “culture of care” component, as it helps make the work of animal researchers and technicians understood by colleagues. This question does not apply to seven members that are organisations without employees.

The results show that most PAR members communicate about the use of animals by giving presentations on this topic or courses. Sharing via internal newsletters or journals is common among both PAR and SAR members. Concerning visits to the animal facilities, 86% of PAR members organised 2022 at least one tour through the animal facility dedicated to personnel not working with animals.

Less than 50 percent of the SARs organised visits to animal facilities, gave presentations, or invited employees to attend seminars on animal research. These members have no animal facilities and do not provide courses and workshops; these activities would have to be organised in collaboration with external institutions.

Several members make no systematic mention of the use of animal research when recruiting and onboarding staff. Given the large size and the decentralised organisation of some institutions, this information may be deemed irrelevant for many employees (staff at a faculty or department in a field that does not perform animal research).

This question was based on the 3rd STAAR Standard agreed upon by members in 2022.

Most PARs published images of research animals held in facilities in 2022 (79 percent, 11/14), people (64 percent, 9/14)) and procedures (50 percent, 7/14); however, videos were not common. This trend is also observed in SARs, with images being more common than videos.

Although images of experimental procedures with animals were published, only 43 percent of the PARs provided details of the actual severity of procedures, and only 21 percent gave information on methods used for euthanasia; only two SARs provided information on procedures or euthanasia.

Concerning publications on social media, Twitter and LinkedIn were the preferred channels, while less than 50 percent of the PARs and SARs communicated about animal research on Facebook or Instagram. Lay communication was performed via articles on animal research or the 3Rs (86 percent and 83 percent, respectively) and outreach talks or face-to-face meetings (57 percent and 50 percent, respectively). Most PARs (79 percent) and 25 percent of SARs published animal research news or information on breakthroughs.

The publication of statistics on the use of animals is an essential component of the 3rd standard. The FSVO publishes annual statistics on animal research based on data from the cantonal authorities, who collect information from the resource managers at research institutions. Although these data could also be collected within the organisations themselves, only 64 percent of the PARs published information on the number and species of animals used. It seems more difficult for SARs to publish information on number and species of animals used in the projects they support, as this aspect is not systematically documented. Consequently, only one SAR published such information in 2022.

Lastly, the questionnaire asked about the amount of funding allocated to animal research. This is a difficult question to answer, because animal research often constitutes only one aspect of research projects that use both animal and non-animal methods. However, 14 percent of the PARs published the proportion of funded research projects with animal experimentation in all funded life sciences projects (e.g. biology, medicine) at their institutions. In addition, two SARs providing funding also published the proportion of funded animal research projects.

Collaboration between research groups in Switzerland and abroad is common practice. This question addressed whether transparency was discussed in collaborative projects. Results indicate that this is not yet common practice.

Members reported that they communicated openly about animal research in response to external inquiries, for example from the media (64 percent of PARs and 58 percent of SARs). They also offered opportunities to learn more about animal research by arranging access to animal facilities (64 percent of the PARs), making statement or giving interviews, and contributing to long-form articles (71 percent of PARs and 67 percent of SARs). Proactive statements to the media were less common (46 percent and 50 percent). All members engaged with the media when requested; in a single case, a member was unable to reply to a media request. In some cases, access to animal facilities is restricted due to strict hygiene protocols.

Increasing transparency goes hand in hand with encouraging staff to communicate openly and enabling them to improve their communication skills. Most PARs offered media training or referred staff to external organisations (86 percent). This is not common among SARs, possibly because their employees are not directly involved in animal research.

The 3Rs principle (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) guides animal research in Switzerland. It is therefore expected that organisations performing animal research, or supporting the use of animals in research, communicate transparently about their efforts to uphold the 3Rs. Most members use various communication channels to do so: examples of implemented 3R methods are presented on websites (93 percent of the PARs and 83 percent of the SARs), in publications (71 percent of the PARs and 50 percent of the SARs) and on social media (64 percent of the PARs and 67 percent of the SARs). In addition, 3R awards are given by a few members (29 percent of the PARs and 25 percent of the SARs). Debates have been organised by 29 percent of the PARs and 42 percent and of the SARs.

These questions refer to the implementation of the 1st and 2nd STAAR Standards for 2022:

1st standard: Policy statement. Signatories communicate their involvement with research using animals by publishing a policy statement on their website, including their commitment to advancing the 3Rs. The policy statement is signed by the person responsible of the domain of animal experimentation at the institution.

Only 34 percent (5/14) of the PARs and two SARs did not achieve this aim in 2022; most of these are working on a statement to be published in 2023.

2nd standard: Contact person. Signatories identify a point of contact for information on their organisation’s involvement in the use of animals in research and on any further initiatives aimed at increasing transparency (e.g. site visits).

Most members had already named a contact person before signing STAAR. Only 15 percent (4/26) have not yet completed this step.

Most members (93 percent of the PARs and 67 percent of the SARs) engaged with the local community and schools, organised or attended events. Only 14 percent (2/14) of the PARs organised events specifically for patients.

Visits to animal facilities allow the public to see research animals and learn more about their holding conditions. Most PARs (93 percent) opened their animal facilities to the public and arranged visits (43 percent for politicians; 64 percent for special interest groups). Only 7 percent (one) of the PARs provided access to facilities during open days; one member received no requests for a visit to its animal facilities. SARs have no animal facilities and must coordinate with other STAAR members to organise visits. Only one member in this category organised an event for visitors.

The STAAR agreement was signed in June 2022; however, only a few members (36 percent of the PARs and 33 percent of the SARs) published information about STAAR after joining the initiative.