Project Objectives
- Collect existing scoresheets from fish labs and other animal groups.
- Systematically review literature on fish welfare assessment.
- Conduct facility visits and interviews to identify scorable indicators of welfare.
- Develop and test a standardised welfare scoresheet across species.
- Disseminate tools nationally and internationally.
How This Advances 3Rs Implementation
- Establishes validated, standardised welfare assessments for fish.
- Enables early detection of distress.
- Supports regulatory compliance and smoother licence processes.
- Builds long‑term refinement capacity across institutions.
Background
Scoresheets are essential refinement tools used to track welfare through predefined, objective criteria. As fish use in research grows, assessments remain inconsistent, and are often experience‑based rather than data‑driven, especially since fish are group‑living animals requiring species‑appropriate behavioural indicators. This inconsistency poses challenges for researchers, regulators, and ethics committees.
The project addresses this by collecting existing tools, reviewing the scientific literature as well as grey literature (such as Government reports, working papers, PhD theses, and conference proceedings), and gathering facility‑level insights, to develop validated, standardised scoring systems for multiple species. Collaboration across the University of Bern’s fish labs and alignment with existing welfare expertise will ensure feasibility and broad applicability.
