The existing legal safeguards for experimental laboratory animals in SA

ROSS TEMPLEMAN, MEMBER, ANIMAL LAW COMMITTEE

If you, or someone that you know, lives with diabetes, has had a coronary bypass or a hip replacement, or received a vaccination for diphtheria, polio, tetanus, or been treated with antibiotics, it is probable that you or they are alive or have a better quality of life due to research that was carried out on laboratory animals. Irrespective of whether you place yourself as supporting animal welfare, animal rights or haven’t considered the matter closely, what is the actual state of the law for animal experimentation in SA at present?

The bulk of the legislative framework for animal experimentation (and teaching involving animals) is contained within the Animal Welfare Act 1985. Any person (or body corporate) that wishes to use animals for teaching or research or experimentation must be licensed.1 The type or organisations that use animals and require licensing are typically universities, TAFEs, schools, hospitals and research centres, and animal organisations such as zoos and wildlife parks. They may be either private or government owned. A licence is only granted where the responsible Minister is satisfied that the applicant can adequately house and provide for the needs meeting of the animals kept.2 Licences need to be renewed every two years.3

Animals that may be used include typical ‘laboratory’ species such as mice, rats, guinea pigs and ferrets, farm species such as cattle, sheep, poultry, horses and pigs, and other species such as native birds and animals, cats, dogs, and primates.4 It must be remembered that many uses of animals under the Act are for the training of individuals that will interact with animals on a professional basis, such as veterinarians, agricultural students and science/medical students, rather than all being strictly experimental in nature.

There are two major licence conditions that are normally made applicable for licensees. The first of these is the need to comply with ‘the Code’, being the Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes5 (NHMRC) – the current version being the 8th Edition, 2013.6 The Code was prepared by a working committee comprising representatives from amongst others the ARC,7 CSIRO,8 NHMRC,9 Universities Australia, RSPCA and Animals Australia, Commonwealth and State government departments. Under the Code,

“the use of animals for scientific purposes must have scientific or educational merit; must aim to benefit humans, animals or the environment; and must be conducted with integrity. When animals are used, the number of animals involved must be minimised, the wellbeing of the animals must be supported, and harm, including pain and distress, in those animals must be avoided or minimised.”10

The second license condition is that all research/teaching activities must be approved by an Animal Ethics Committee (AEC).11 The AECs look at all research and teaching proposals and decide whether the work proposed is ethically acceptable and likely to be useful. They comprise at least five members, who shall include at least one each of a veterinarian, nominees of animal welfare organisations and the public,12 with the AEC itself obligated to follow the Code.13 AECs have the wide powers to accept proposals, turn them down completely or request changes to make the proposals acceptable.14 They have the power to inspect work on approved projects at any time, with or without notification,15 and halt any work which is not being carried out in an appropriate manner.16 They also examine the need for the particular end use of the proposal and ensure that there is no unnecessary repetition of previous research.17 Should a decision of the AEC, or the Minister, be disagreed with, a Review lies to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal within one month of the decision.18

And what of the older images of rabbits being subject to the testing of shampoos or beauty products poured into their eyes? - or the LD (lethal dose) 50 test19 that measures the dose of a substance which is required to kill 50% of a test population? Under the Animal Welfare Regulations 2012, both of these practices are normally prohibited in South Australia.20 The exception to the prohibition has a reverse onus of proof on the research applicant, to justify that the research has the potential to benefit human or animal health and the objectives cannot be achieved by means that will cause less pain to animals.21

So, the next time that you visit the doctor, vet or chemist and obtain a treatment or medicine, give a small thought to the laboratory animals who have played a part over many years in ensuring that that procedure or medicine is available and relatively safe for use. B

Endnotes 1 Animal Welfare Act 1985 s16 2 Animal Welfare Act 1985 s18 3 Animal Welfare Act 1985 s20 4 Definition of ‘Animal’ under the Australian Code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes:

Animal: any live non-human vertebrate (that is, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, encompassing domestic animals, purpose-bred animals, livestock, wildlife) and cephalopods. 5 https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/ publications/australian-code-care-and-use-animalsscientific-purposes 6 Animal Welfare Act 1985 s19(2)(f) 7 Australian Research Council, https://www.arc.gov.au/about-arc 8 The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial

Research Organisation, https://www.csiro.au/en/ 9 National Health and Medical Research Council, https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/ 10 Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes – 8th Edition, Canberra, NHMRC, p1 11 Animal Welfare Act 1985 s19(2)(c)-(e).

More information on Animal ethics committee’s may be found here: https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/topics/ plants-and-animals/animal-welfare/Animals_in_ research_teaching/Animal_ethics_committees 12 Animal Welfare Act 1985 s23(3) 13 Animal Welfare Act 1985 s25(1a) 14 Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes – 8th Edition, Canberra,

NHMRC, 2.3.9 p26 15 Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes – 8th Edition, Canberra,

NHMRC, 2.3.21 p27 16 Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes – 8th Edition, Canberra,

NHMRC, 2.3.25 p28 17 Animal Welfare Act 1985 s25(3) 18 Animal Welfare Act 1985 ss26, 27 19 https://www.animalethics.org.au/accreditationand-licensing/ld50-and-lethality-testing 20 Animal Welfare Regulations 2012 s11 21 Animal Welfare Regulations 2012 s11(1)(c), (d)