Thank you for raising these critical issues around reproducibility and rigour in animal research. Addressing these challenges requires practical tools and cultural change, and there are resources available to help researchers, institutions and funders make meaningful improvements.

One key initiative is the NC3Rs Experimental Design Assistant (EDA), which supports researchers in planning robust and reproducible studies. By guiding users through key design considerations—such as randomisation, blinding, and sample size calculation—the EDA helps reduce bias and improve the reliability of findings. The EDA is endorsed by many funders worldwide such as the NIH in the US or UKRI in the UK.

Complementing this, the ARRIVE guidelines now include the ARRIVE Study Plan, which encourages researchers to document their experimental design in advance and links to guidance to support good experimental practices from the outset. The ARRIVE study plan fosters collaboration between researchers and animal units by clearly communicating the planned procedures and rigour strategies to be used.

Finally, the latest edition of the IACUC Handbook introduces a new chapter dedicated to reproducibility. This addition underscores the responsibility of oversight committees to consider study design rigour as part of ethical review, ensuring that animal use delivers scientifically valid outcomes.

Together, these resources provide a practical framework for improving the quality and reliability of animal research. Another important question is ‘How do we act?’ – these tools offer a clear starting point.