Charles River
What is the animal research openness movement, and how did it start?
Endorse the Statement of Intent and join a community working to expand animal research openness.
Openness Exemplars
What does openness look like? Exemplars are institutions that are proudly sharing their commitment to animal welfare, good science and discovery. Click on a post to learn more about successful strategies and initiatives our Exemplars have used to showcase their excellent programs and research teams.
What is Openness?
Openness about animal research means ensuring that the public has access to why animal studies are essential in the advancement of science and medicine and how animal welfare is assured. Information provided should be clear about what role the animals play in answering scientific questions and how studies with animals are approved, conducted and monitored.
The U.S. Animal Research Openness Initiative invites institutions involved in research, teaching and/or testing with animals to engage in this united effort to increase public access to why, when and how animal studies occurs.
Openness is not something new.
Animal research is governed by federal, state and local laws, regulations, policies and/or guidelines. In addition, most research is funded by the public. As such, there are many ways for members of the public to access information about animal studies.
Furthermore, there are already many institutions that provide publicly accessible context about these studies to help increase understanding about why, when and how animals are involved.
The USARO Initiative aims to increase the number of institutions that are consistently engaging in efforts to ensure the public has the opportunity to better understand the important role of animals in the biomedical research process, including the development of medicines for both human and veterinary patients.