Evolving value and validity of animal models in veterinary therapeutic research: Impact of scientific progress

In veterinary medicine, experimental in vivo animal models have long been integral to advancing our understanding of disease mechanisms and assessing the safety and efficacy of potential therapies. However, the value and validity of these models warrants reassessment in light of emerging scientific evidence, evolving standards in animal welfare, and the development of alternative methodologies. Such a reassessment is essential for maintaining ethical scientific practices and ensuring that research approaches remain both relevant and justifiable, especially as our awareness of animal pain, sentience, and consciousness deepens. While interspecies extrapolation of findings from these models poses challenges when applied to human medicine, what about cases where an animal species serves as both the experimental subject and the intended veterinary patient? Additionally, what alternative tools are potentially available to replace in vivo studies in these contexts? This commentary explores how veterinary research may improve efforts to meet the principles of the 3R's by integrating alternative in vitro and in silico models early in the investigative process and utilizing specialized tools within the target veterinary population during clinical trials.