One of the key missions at the 3Rs Collaborative is to be a foundational partner for institutional 3Rs programs by providing education and mentorship. Through this mission, the idea of offering workshops for refined mouse handling was created.
There is ample evidence showing that refined mouse handling improves animal welfare, scientific quality, and ease of handling, however, especially for staff that are familiar with traditional handling, switching to a new style of handling can be challenging. Proper training is necessary to learn how to practically conduct these methods in institutions. The goal of these workshops is for participants to learn how to practically conduct the two major variations of refined mouse handling with both calm and jumpy mice: tunnel handling and cup handling.
The 3Rs Collaborative has hosted refined mouse handling workshops in partnership with the University of Washington and University of Utah.
Credit to the University of Washington for the above pictures.
Are you a champion for refined handling in your institution and want to host a workshop? The 3RsC refinement initiative has created two primary resources for you.
1. Workshop Overview and Training Plan: this document provides a general overview of a refined handling workshop, including primary learning objectives, suggested workshop formats and an example full-day workshop agenda. This is based on previous workshops hosted with the 3RsC and can be modified as necessary.
2. Workshop Logistics: this document provides an outline of the materials, resources and logistics necessary to conduct a refined mouse handling workshop. This is based on previous workshops hosted with the 3RsC and can be modified as necessary.
April: District 8 AALAS in Seattle
June: CALAS National Meeting in Saskatoon
November: National AALAS Meeting in Nashville
Is your institution hosting a symposium, conference or meeting where you think a refined handling workshop could be incorporated? Reach out to laurenyoung@na3rsc.org to discuss collaboration with the 3RsC.