• Ethics

Transparency involves communicating meaningful information (eg, data or details of decision-making processes) to audiences, openly and honestly, with the intention of informing, enabling understanding and meeting responsibilities of accountability.

The paper in this issue by Levin and Reppy1 highlights the value of transparency in improving ethical discussions on animal research, to allow the public (who fund much of the research) to properly evaluate the scientific and ethical case for any proposed use of animals in research or testing. A second paper by Goodman and colleagues2 points out that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently does not provide certain information on animal use. At the same time, waning support for animal research has been documented.3 ,4

Partly stimulated by similar reports, Europe has seen a number of recent efforts aimed at improving transparency on animal research. Basel Declaration signatories undertake to ‘contribute to providing society with open and transparent information about animal experiments’,5 while those of the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK undertake to …