Animal care
When animals are involved in teaching or research activities, ensuring that they are given the best possible standard of care is fundamental to achieving animal welfare goals.
The Code of Practice sets out the general principles which need to be followed to achieve this but it does not prescribe specific standards, as these need to be regularly reviewed and revised to take into account new knowledge.
Conditions in which animals are housed is a focus of animal welfare concerns as poor or inappropriate conditions can have a life-long effect on an animal’s comfort and sense of well-being.
This is an area where approaches and standards may rapidly change. To provide more detailed advice on species-specific requirements for animal housing, the Panel has commenced the publication of specific guidelines which, based on current evidence, set out the options for housing species in ways which meet their behavioural and biological needs.
