Animal ethics committees and the implementation of the Three RS

In Australia, the use of animals in research, teaching and diagnostics is governed by the legislation of the State or Territory (the relevant legislation in South Australia is the ''Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1985'') and the code of practice set down by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). The responsibility for fulfilling the requirements of both the legislation and the code of practice lies with the institution through its animal experimentation and ethics committee (AEC). The composition of the AEC is determined by the code of practice and has as its members representatives from the areas of animal welfare, veterinary science, research, the general public and the daily care of research animals. In carrying out the delegated responsibility, the AEC (local designation, Animal Welfare Committee) at Flinders University has developed a two tiered system of examination and evaluation of projects involving animals. This system involves the use of a subcommittee from each of the two schools which use animals in experimentation. The subcommittees perform a critical appraisal of each project and rank the procedures according to the NHMRC category of procedures and the State government pain categories. The ranking of procedures enables the central committee (AWC) to focus on protocols which are contentious or have the potential to cause undue pain or stress to the animal. The subcommittee of the School of Medicine has been largely responsible for the development of this system, and has evolved a rigorous assessment mechanism which guides chief investigators to address all the issues associated with animal experimentation and their specific research protocols. The product forwarded to the AWC enables it to make its judgements in the most informed way. This system goes a long way to ensuring that each project is refined, that the use of alternatives has been investigated, and that the numbers of animals requested are appropriate for the study.