Journals can act as a driving force for improving animal welfare standards worldwide, for example, by refusing to publish papers describing research where the benefits do not justify the harms to animals, or where the 3Rs have not been implemented.
Over the past four years the RSPCA has conducted surveys to identify scientific journals that have published four or more primary research articles, in English, that involved the use of animals to see whether they have a publication policy relating to animal use and if so, rated it according to 12 criteria.
Overall, no evidence of a relevant policy was found for 44.6 per cent of journals. The average scores for the journals that did have relevant policies were 2.4 in 2005/6 and 2.2 in 2008/9, out of a potential 12 points. Although there has been clear interest from many journal editors for developing such policies, the situation is currently not improving at a discernable rate.
For more information, read the 'ethical policies' animal welfare indicator.
