Events
RSPCA has held a series of events, bringing together hundreds of people from across the world, to share knowledge and ideas, and promote practical approaches to avoiding and reducing severe suffering. Participants usually include representatives from government authorities involved in the regulation of animal research, National Committees on animal experiments, and local Animal Welfare Bodies at institutions, veterinarians, scientists, animal facility managers, animal technologists, 3Rs centres and individuals involved in delivering education and training related to laboratory animal science. We are also regularly invited to contribute on the theme of severe suffering to meetings convened by other relevant organisations. Details of past events can be found in the boxes below.
Upcoming events
Our next international Focus on Severe Suffering meeting will be held in France, near Paris on 20-21 November 2024. The meeting will feature presentations, case studies, and breakout discussions, providing participants the opportunity to compare approaches to refinement and share best practices. The event will bring together scientists, veterinarians, animal facility managers, technologists, and other professionals to share insights and strategies, with a focus on research fields such as neuroscience, cancer, and cardiovascular research. Register here.
Our upcoming UK Focus on Severe Suffering meeting, in partnership with Newcastle University, will take place on 5 November 2024. This in-person, one-day event will center on the theme “Minimising Pain.” The meeting will bring together experts from various disciplines to explore strategies for reducing animals’ experiences of pain, both in pain research and in models of painful human conditions, while ensuring the integrity of the scientific outcomes. Register here.
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Focus on severe suffering – Humane endpoints in regulatory toxicology – UK, 2023
On 16 November we held a UK meeting, focusing on implementing humane endpoints in acute regulatory toxicology. Sessions included:
- Case studies on identifying sublethal indicators in acute toxicology tests
- Improvements in training for animal technologists
- Use of technology in animal monitoring
Summary report: Focus on Severe Suffering – Humane Endpoints in Regulatory Toxicology
Focus on severe suffering – Cumulative severity – Leiden, 2023
On 12-13 October we held our fifth international meeting in association with the Netherlands National Committee for the Protection of Animals Used for Scientific Purposes and the University of Leiden. The two-day meeting had 159 attendees across 13 countries. Sessions included:
- Progress of the ‘Focus on severe suffering’ initiative in the UK and Europe
- Case studies on reducing severity
- Experiences and perspectives from scientists and Animal Welfare Bodies
- A group workshop on implementing the Roadmap in practice
Summary report: Focus on Severe Suffering – Cumulative Severity.
9th AFLAS Congress – South Korea, 2023
On 13-15 September we attended the 9th Asian Federation of Laboratory Animal Science Associations Congress. We were invited to co-organise and chair a session on ‘Avoiding and reducing animal suffering – opportunities for implementing the 3Rs’. As part of this session we gave a presentation, sharing information and the impacts of our initiative aimed towards ending ‘severe’ suffering.
12th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences – Canada, 2023
On 27-31 August we attended the 12th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences. We convened a symposium on ‘Reducing severe suffering – time for a strategic approach’.
Reducing severity – supportive care – online, 2023
On 27 February and 15 May we conducted a joint workshop on reducing severity in collaboration with the Swiss 3R Competence Centre. Sessions included:
- Implementing the Roadmap
- Case studies on reducing severity in practice
- Driving forward a culture of care
Severe suffering in animal experiments and how to refine – online, 2022
We were pleased to be invited to deliver the opening presentation at this event organised by the Austrian 3R Centre.
Presentation: Working together to end severe suffering (PDF 2.14KB)
Refining severe disease models and procedures – Stockholm, 2022
On 24-25 August 2022 we held our fourth international meeting, in association with the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
Summary report: 4th RSPCA international meeting (PDF 254 KB)
Presentations from the four sessions: Introduction and case studies in basic and applied research (PDF 14.9 MB), Retrospective assessment of severe procedures (PDF 10.5 MB), Case studies in regulatory testing (PDF 7.7 MB) and Looking to the future (PDF 7.7 MB)
Working together to end ‘severe’ suffering – FELASA Congress, 2022
We convened a session at the Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations (FELASA) international congress. Speakers described how people with different roles – including designated veterinarians, animal technicians, regulators, Animal Welfare Body (AWB) members and others – can work together to reduce, and ideally end, severe suffering.
Slide set introducing the session and explaining the ‘Roadmap’ approach (PDF 2.9 MB)
Looking forward and looking back – opportunities to focus on ‘severe’ suffering – Manchester, 2022
This meeting was held in association with the University of Manchester. It included sessions on:
- the Roadmap to reducing suffering
- animal diseases and disorders
- looking back – retrospective assessment
Summary report: Looking forward and looking back (PDF 190KB)
Presentations (PDF 6.4MB) from the event, and slide set with AWERB discussion topics (PPT 406KB)
Focus on fish – online, 2022
Topics covered in our second ‘virtual’ conference on practical refinements for fish used in research and testing, included:
- PREPARE for fish research
- what zebrafish want
- anaesthesia protocols
- humane endpoints
- humane killing
- 3Rs and alternatives
Summary report: Focus on Fish II (PDF 120KB)
How the pharmaceutical industry is tackling ‘severe’ suffering in animals used in science – online, 2022
Jointly with the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) we convened a 90-minute webinar to share and discuss some of the positive and practical steps that have been taken by the pharmaceutical industry aimed at avoiding or reducing ‘severe’ suffering in animals used in research and testing. The event included three case study examples:
- a new group housing approach for animals in metabolism studies
- refining and reducing animal use in challenge potency tests
- refining animal use in Maximum Tolerated Dose studies
and a panel discussion of some of the wider challenges involved and how these are being overcome.
Presentations (PDF 5.5MB) from the event
11th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences
– online, 2021
We convened a ‘Focus on Severe Suffering’ session, where speakers covered topics including:
- reducing suffering in animal models of neuropathic and inflammatory pain, sepsis and colitis
- tailoring humane endpoints
- avoiding mortality
Topics covered in our ‘virtual’ conference on practical refinements for fish used in research and testing, included:
- what is it like to be a zebrafish
- attitudes towards fish welfare and the 3Rs
- using analgesia in fishes
- refining procedures
- welfare assessment
- humane endpoints
Summary report: Focus on Fish (PDF 115KB)
The programme was based on the ‘Avoiding mortality in animal research and testing’ report, covering three main areas:
- reducing the numbers of animals ‘found dead’
- reducing unpredicted mortality of animals being used in procedures
- challenging perceived requirements for ‘death as an endpoint’ in studies and tests
FELASA Congress – Prague, 2019
We were delighted to accept an invitation from the organisers of this event (which attracted over 2,000 delegates from across the world) to run three scientific sessions, on:
- Ending severe suffering – where are we now?
- Welfare assessment – recognising severe suffering
- Practical refinements of ‘severe’ suffering animal models and procedures
The focus for this meeting was strategies for refining models and procedures in which this can be challenging, such as humane endpoints in regulatory tests, and analgesia provision in pain models. The programme included case studies from industry and academia, highlighting how pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm has been successfully avoided or reduced in specific models or procedures such as:
- neuropathic pain
- collagen-induced arthritis
- experimental diabetes
- evident toxicity in regulatory tests
- environmental toxicity testing in fish
Plus discussion on:
how local AWERBs can assist in developing strategies to apply refinement in ‘challenging’ models improving dissemination of information on refinement
SGV annual meeting – Zurich, 2017
We were thrilled to accept the Swiss Laboratory Animal Science Association annual 3Rs award in recognition of our work towards ending severe suffering by implementing humane endpoints, and to give the keynote presentation at their annual conference.
The programme included
- a series of case studies in which severe suffering had been successfully reduced
- study areas where challenges and obstacles to reducing or avoiding severe suffering still remain
- prospective severity of procedures
- the harm-benefit assessment
- communicating with the public about ‘harms’, and ‘severe’ suffering
- the role of Animal Welfare Bodies, National Committees and others in sharing good practice
Meeting summary and action points: Berlin (PDF 433KB)
Joint media release from MDC and RSPCA
The programme included
- ‘severe’ suffering within the EU
- how pain, suffering and distress are currently identified and assessed in animals
- recent progress in refining procedures and animal care across a range of ‘models’, tests, techniques and species
- future opportunities for refinement
- current potential scientific and other obstacles that will need to be overcome
Meeting summary and action points: Brussels (PDF 108KB)
AVOIDING AND REDUCING SEVERE SUFFERING
Avoiding and reducing severe suffering helps to fulfil legal requirements, reduce ethical concerns and improve scientific quality – this website will help you to achieve this.
Practical ways to reduce or avoid severe suffering include:
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