The Emergence and Early Fate of the Three Rs Concept.

In the 60th year since the publication of The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique by W.M.S. Russell and R.L. Burch, we visited the W.M.S. and Claire Russell Archive at the University of Nottingham to discover, or confirm, answers to certain questions: the origins of the UFAW project which led to its writing; the relationship between Russell and Burch; the project plan; the origin of the Three Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) concept; the drafting, publication and response to the appearance of the book; and the future careers of its authors. We report on our findings, though many other questions have yet to be answered.