Bureau of Animal Welfare Animal Ethics Committee Newsletter
Issue 17
September 2010
Welcome to the 17th Bureau of Animal Welfare (BAW) Animal Ethics Committee Newsletter, a source of information and updates relevant to people involved in the use of animals in scientific procedures. The Bureau website (www.dpi.vic.gov.au/animalwelfare) also contains useful information and resources that are updated regularly. Type in www.dpi.vic.gov.au/animalwelfare/procedures to go directly to the
Animals in Research and Teaching pages.
Please send any comments or queries regarding this newsletter or other AEC matters that you would like to see raised in future newsletters to the Principal Veterinary Officer (PVO) (contact details on the last page). If you do not wish to receive this email newsletter in the future, please contact the PVO.
Inside this issue
- BAW Seminar
- Code review update
- Guidelines for the ethical use of animals
- Trapping pest species
Bureau update - What's been happening at the Bureau?
At the Bureau we're very pleased that funding has been granted to us for a data management system upgrade, which will streamline many of our activities and communications with licence holders. The aim of the project is to enable secure online access to licence details by licence holders and delegated staff, allowing convenient viewing and updating of licence nominees, AEC members, addresses, premises and so on. With work set to begin soon, we hope to have a prototype online interface ready for testing around the middle of next year.
The productivity of last year's Wildlife Research Welfare Workshop was overwhelming and we have been busily distilling the information into a format for wider consultation. Some discussion documents have been circulated for further comment from participants and other interested people. We hope to develop guidelines to assist wildlife researchers and AECs in determining the impact of field research on target and non-target animals, and to provide some guidance on standard procedures. If you'd like to be involved, please contact the PVO.
Many of you will know by now that I have cut down slightly on my hours of work, now working Monday to Thursday. However, if you do contact us on a Friday you will encounter the very capable Dr Carol Ginns, who has joined the Bureau on a one day per week basis. As an experienced Animal Welfare Officer and Bureau auditor, Dr Ginns is very well-versed in legislative and Code of Practice requirements and will be able to provide advice and answer any questions you may have. Dr Ginns' contact details can be found on the back page.
Dani Maver, PVO
Bureau of Animal Welfare Annual Seminar - 18th November 2010
Preparations for the 2010 Bureau of Animal Welfare Seminar are in full swing. The date of the seminar is 18th November (put it in your diaries!). This year we are returning to the traditional format of an all-day seminar featuring invited speakers on a variety of topics of relevance to Animal Ethics Committee members, animal care staff, researchers, Executive Officers and anyone else interested in the ethical use of animals in research and teaching.
This year we are pleased to have Professor Andrew Brennan (Professor in Philosophy at La Trobe University) open up a different way of looking at how and why AECs work (or don't...); Dr Denise Noonan, Animal Welfare Officer at the University of Adelaide, will talk about fostering wellbeing in laboratory animals as well as discussing ways in which AECs might tackle post-approval monitoring of projects, without driving themselves mad; we have a couple of excellent speakers presenting complementary sessions on tumour models, from the design and welfare consideration stages through to monitoring and care, documentation and endpoints.
All this and a free lunch will make the trip to 475 Mickleham Road, Attwood on Thursday November 18th a delight. A full program will be finalised and distributed in the near future. In the meantime, plan for a 9.30 cup of coffee or tea, with the seminar starting at 10am. RSVPs (alan.fried@dpi.vic.gov.au) essential.
Review of the Australian Code - Update
The review of the 7th edition of the Australian code of practice for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes has been significantly delayed by the re-establishment of the NHMRC Animal Welfare Committee at the conclusion of 2007-2009 appointment triennium. This group has now been reappointed, with several new members.
The previous Code Liaison Group has been expanded and renamed the Code Reference Group. A Jurisdictional Reference Group has also been formed, consisting of the regulators in each jurisdiction responsible for the use of animals in research and teaching. Writing groups have also been established.
The revitalised review process is being overseen by the newly appointed Dr Mary Bate, Assistant Director, Health and Research Ethics section.
ARRIVE guidelines for publishing animal studies
The UK National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) has recently developed the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments) guidelines to improve standards of reporting animal experiments. The guidelines are aimed at scientists writing up their research for publication or involved in peer review.
The NC3Rs has previously shown that many publications reporting animal research lack key information on study design, conduct and analysis, limiting their value in informing future scientific studies and policy.
Developed in consultation with the scientific community, the guidelines consist of a 20-point checklist of the information essential to publications reporting animal research. ARRIVE has already been endorsed by a number of leading scientific journals, along with the major funders of animal research in the UK. See http://www.nc3rs.org.uk/ARRIVE
AEC Advisory Committee (AECAC) Update
Current projects
The AECAC are currently developing a proforma advertisement for institutions to use when recruiting AEC members, a generic application form for the use of animals in teaching, and guidelines on managing emergencies in animal facilities.
If you have any comments or Athoughts to share on these or other topics, please feel free to contact the Bureau.
EC Advisory Committee (AECAC) Update Page 3 Bureau of Animal Welfare.
Other topics the AEC Advisory Committee have on their work plan are:
- Assessing the competency of researchers to perform the procedures they''ve applied to use
- The mouse passport - a standard document providing husbandry and welfare information for establishments receiving
genetically altered mice - Alternatives to the Morris Water maze for testing learning and memory in rodents
Issues for the AEC Advisory Committee?The AECAC provides you with the opportunity to raise any issues for broader discussions of any matters relevant to AECs. You can submit your questions by contacting the Bureau directly (contact details on last page). Anonymity and confidentiality can be |
Introductory AEC TrainingPlaces are still available for the Introductory AEC training course to be held at DPI Attwood, 475 Mickleham Road, on Tuesday October 19th. This training session runs from 1.30—5.00pm and is free of charge. Essential training for new AEC members in their vital roles and responsibilities. Seminars are also valuable networking and continuing education opportunities for experienced AEC members and newcomers alike. RSVPs essential: alan.fried@dpi.vic.gov.au |
Guidelines for the ethical use of animals in research and teaching
Guidelines and advice notes developed by the AEC Advisory Committee and the Bureau have been collated into a readily-accessible manual available at the Bureau's website. The manual includes information for institutions, AECs, researchers and teachers and is provided at all Bureau training sessions.
Topics such as planning animal projects, managing adverse incidents, conflict resolution and record keeping are covered. There is also a handy proforma “Self audit for AECs” that will assist AECs in reporting annually to their institution.
As new guidelines become available they will be incorporated into the manual. The manual is available for reading or download at www.dpi.vic.gov.au/animalwelfare/procedures - go to the “Guidelines, Resources and Updates” page and look for the link to the Guidelines for the Ethical Use of Animals in Research and Teaching. We regret to say that we don''t have sufficient resources to print and post manuals out. While it is a small file size, it is a 123-page colour document, so we ask that institutions print copies on behalf of their independent AEC members.
Pest animal bycatch
Trapping exercises almost always carry a risk of non-target capture, that is, catching species that are not of interest to the study. The impact of trapping techniques, biosecurity management and monitoring frequency are just as important for these animals as for the intended subject(s) of the study.
The Bureau is often asked about the legal obligations of researchers encountering pest species while trapping, especially with terrestrial trapping using whole-body containment traps such as pitfall, Elliott and cage traps. The Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (CALP Act) states that it is an offence to release a declared pest animal (section 75A). A list of declared pest animals, by category (prohibited, controlled, regulated and established) is available in the appendices to a DPI Information Note, A Guide for the Control over the Possession, Trade and Movement of Declared Pest Animals. The quickest way to find this document is to go to the DPI homepage (www.dpi.vic.gov.au) and search for the Information Note by typing its number into the search box in the top right corner: LC0303.
Some commonly encountered pest species, such as black rats, brown rats, house mice and feral cats are not declared pest species, and therefore their release is not an offence against the CALP Act. However, European hares and rabbits are declared pest species and their release is considered an offence under the CALP Act. Trapping protocols that have the potential to catch these species, and others listed in the Information Note, must outline the procedures that will be followed to ensure that these animals are not released back into the wild. Euthanasia techniques must be humane and carried out by a competent person.
| The NSW Department of Industry and Investment has produced a suite of pest animal management and control Standard Operating Procedures. The documents have been adopted by the Commonwealth Government for lands under its control, particularly defence estate and national parks, and have been endorsed by NSW Pest Animal Council. Available at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/pests-weeds/vertebrate-pests/codes/humane-pest-animal-control |
Contacts
Dr Dani Maver
Principal Veterinary Officer
Bureau of Animal Welfare
475 Mickleham Road,
Attwood, Victoria 3049,
Tel:+61 3 9217 4200
Fax:+61 3 9217 4416
dani.maver@dpi.vic.gov.au
Dr Carol Ginns
Policy Officer
Bureau of Animal Welfare
475 Mickleham Road,
Attwood, Victoria 3049,
Tel:+61 3 9217 4200
Fax:+61 3 9217 4416
carol.ginns@dpi.vic.gov.au
Mr Alan Fried
Licensing and Compliance Officer
Bureau of Animal Welfare
475 Mickleham Road,
Attwood, Victoria 3049,
Tel:+61 3 9217 4200
Fax:+61 3 9217 4416
alan.fried@dpi.vic.gov.au
