Two excellent communications initiatives from Belgium and Spain, using imagery and video, have been published to promote transparency about the use of animal research in public research.
EARA member VIB, Belgium, has published a virtual 360-lab tour of its labs, including the animal facilities, with information about the research that takes place in each department.
In the mouse lab, viewers can find a 38-page booklet describing why animals are used in research at VIB, alongside interviews with researchers, lab technicians and communicators, including comments from EARA Executive Director Kirk Leech.
“It is precisely by communicating clearly and proactively about research that scientists can build societal support,” said Kirk in the booklet.
Spanish Transparency Agreement member institution, the University of Oviedo, has also shared videos of their animal research facilities with the public on YouTube.
The two short films feature scenes from the animal facility at the university, including procedures, and an interview with Teresa Sánchez Álvarez, director and chief veterinarian of the facility, about the welfare of the animals at the institution.