Fiftieth anniversary of an animal welfare milestone
1959 saw the culmination of the work of William Russell and Rex Burch at UFAW in the publication of ‘The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique’, the groundbreaking book which introduced for the first time the concept of the Three Rs in biomedical research – Replacement of the use of sentient animals where possible, Reduction of the number used to the minimum necessary to achieve the objective, and Refinement of care and techniques to minimise the risks of harm to welfare.
‘The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique’ was an outstanding and world-changing work that has led to the concept of the Three Rs having a central place in biomedical research and bringing huge benefits for the welfare of animals and the quality of research around the world.
William Russell joined UFAW from Oxford University in October 1954 when he was offered the project on humane experimental technique by Major Charles Hume, UFAW’s founder. His assistant, Rex Burch, was appointed a few weeks later. Soon after starting the project, Russell gave a presentation at the UFAW AGM in February 1955 in which he said of his study, “I believe it is also one of immense promise for the welfare of large numbers of animals”. He was quite right about this.
In an article for a special issue of UFAW’s journal Animal Welfare published to mark the 50th anniversary of the first year of his study, Russell wrote “At 80 years of age, with a feeling that I have rather done my bit in this field, and with Rex no longer with us, it is a great joy to know that hundreds of fine scientists, all over the world, are pursuing research in and promotion of the Three Rs. UFAW began it all and, despite the demands of the many other aspects of animal welfare science to which it is committed, has quietly and steadily continued to pursue and promote humane experimental technique” (Russell 2005).
There is now a National Centre for the Three Rs (NC3Rs) in the UK and the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) to name but two such bodies now active around the world promoting research into, and application of, the Three Rs. Examples of replacement, reduction and refinement are legion and grow in numbers continually. Indeed, application of the Three Rs is now required by regulatory authorities in many countries.
William Russell died in July 2006 and UFAW has established the Professor William Russell Research Fellowship in honour of his work and achievements. The inaugural Fellow, awarded in 2008, is Dr Joseph Garner of Purdue University who is undertaking a project in the refinement of mouse husbandry – an important area of work which can potentially benefit many millions of animals, as mice are by far the most commonly used species in scientific procedures.
The Professor William Russell Research Fellowship is part of a wide portfolio of research awards run by UFAW, which also includes a Three Rs Studentship for three-year programmes of research leading to degrees at doctorate level. Current work under this scheme involves study of environmental enrichment for rats, and the new award for 2009 will support work investigating a method for replacement of animals in toxicity testing.
UFAW is immensely grateful to William Russell and Rex Burch for their huge contribution to animal welfare.
Russell WMS 2005 The Three Rs Past, Present and Future. Animal Welfare 14: 279-286.
