Reporting adverse events allows other researchers to plan appropriate welfare assessments and minimise the risk of these events occurring in their own studies. If the experiment is testing the efficacy of a treatment, the occurrence of adverse events may alter the balance between treatment benefit and risk [1].

A safe and effective analgesic plan is critical to relieve pain, suffering and distress. Untreated pain can affect the animals’ biology and add variability to the experiment; however specific pain management procedures can also introduce variability, affecting experimental data [1,2]. Under-reporting of welfare management procedures contributes to the perpetuation of non-compliant methodologies and insufficient or inappropriate use of analgesia [2] or other welfare measures.

The environment determines the health and wellbeing of the animals and every aspect of it can potentially affect their behavioural and physiological responses, thereby affecting research outcomes [1]. Different studies may be sensitive to different environmental factors, and particular aspects of the environment necessary to report may depend on the type of study [2].

Authors are responsible for complying with regulations and guidelines relating to the use of animals for scientific purposes. This includes ensuring that they have the relevant approval for their study from an appropriate ethics committee and/or regulatory body before the work starts. The ethical statement provides editors, reviewers and readers with assurance that studies have received this ethical oversight [1]. This also promotes transparency and understanding about the use of animals in research and fosters public trust.

Explaining the purpose of the study by describing the question(s) that the research addresses, allows readers to determine if the study is relevant to them. Readers can also assess the relevance of the model organism, procedures, outcomes measured, and analysis used.

Provide enough detail for the reader to assess the suitability of the animal model used to address the research question. Include information on the rationale for choosing a particular species, explain how the outcome measures assessed are relevant to the condition under study, and how the model was validated. Stating that an animal model is commonly used in the field is not appropriate, and a well-considered, detailed rationale should be provided.