Research sense: Incorporating animals’ sensory capacities in animal care and study design
Co-authored by Wild Animal Initiative Strategy Director Mal Graham, this paper was published online in Laboratory Animals in December 2025.
Abstract
No systematic procedures exist to ensure that differences in animal sensory capacities are accounted for in experimental design and ethical review processes. This oversight can compromise both scientific validity and animal welfare. This review presents three practical methodologies to address this gap: incorporation of specialist expertise through consultation frameworks, voluntary certification schemes modeled on Open Science practices, and mandatory sensory capacity review integrated into existing ethics committee processes. We provide a concrete tool — a sensory modality survey — that can be implemented by institutional review committees to evaluate sensory considerations in research proposals systematically. These approaches align with the 3Rs principles by enhancing experimental refinement and potentially reducing animal use through improved study design.
