Annual reporting by animal ethics committees to accredited animal research establishments

Animal Research Review Panel Policy 5

Revised 17^th February 2010

Introduction

Clause 2.2.40 of the Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes states that:

The AEC must submit a written report on its activities at least annually to the governing body of the institution(s) for which it acts. The report should include information on:

    (i) numbers and types of projects assessed and approved or rejected; 
   
    (ii) the physical facilities for the care and use of animals by the institution;
   
    (iii) activities that have supported the educational needs of AEC members, and of personnel involved in the care and use of animals;
   
    (iv) administrative or other difficulties being experienced;
   
    (v) any matters that may affect the institution's ability to maintain compliance with the Code and if necessary the provision of suitable recommendations.

The Code also states, under the responsibility of institutions:

2.1.1 Institutions that use animals for scientific purposes must implement processes so that the governing body of the institution or its delegate is assured of compliance with the Code and relevant legislation. These processes must at least include:

(ix) conducting an annual review of the operation of the AEC, including an assessment of the AECs Annual Report (see 2.2.40) and a meeting with the AEC chairperson.

Policy

1. AECs must report annually to the head of their accredited animal research establishment.

2. The purpose of this report is to inform the managers of the establishment of the activities of the AEC and to identify problems that need to be addressed. The reports should be used by establishments as a means to self-assess their compliance with the animal research legislation and to enable them to take measures to ensure ongoing compliance. The conduct of this self-assessment is a central component of establishments' responsibilities under the animal research legislation. The preparation of the report also provides an opportunity for the AEC to reflect on its activities and self-assess its operations.

3. The format and timing of the report should be agreed between the AEC and the establishment.

4. The report should contain:

4.1 Introduction

A brief introduction to the scope of the AEC activities

4.2 AEC membership

A list of members of the AEC and their categories of membership during the reporting year.

4.3 AEC meetings

A list of AEC meetings during the reporting year.

4.4 Numbers and types of projects assessed and approved or rejected

A list of individual research projects approved and rejected and those approved with conditions. This section should include information on projects approved with high negative impact on the welfare of animals (that is Category 7: Major Physiological Challenge and Category 8: Death as an End Point – see Form L: Annual Return on Animal Use). The information should include measures implemented to reduce the number of high impact projects approved and to reduce the number of animals used in high impact projects.

4.5 Physical facilities for the care and use of animals by the establishment

A comment on the adequacy of facilities for animal care and use.

4.6  Activities that have supported the educational needs of AEC members, and of personnel involved in the care and use of animals

Include information related to AEC members, researchers/teachers and animal carers.

4.7 Administrative or other difficulties experienced

Indentify difficulties and how, or if, they have been resolved and any recommendations for action.

4.8 Any matters that may affect the establishment’s ability to comply with the animal research legislation (including the Code of Practice) and, if applicable, recommendations for action to be taken

Include the identification of specific cases of non-compliance and how these were dealt with. 

4.9 Implementation of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement)

Include examples of how the use of animals has been replaced (by non-animal alternatives, reduced (to decrease the number of animals used) and refined (to decrease adverse impacts on animals).

5. Examples of matters that could be flagged in the report are: the need for budget allocations to upgrade or build new facilities, the reorganisation of reporting structures to improve animal care, and the establishment of a staff training scheme.

6. Where there are no matters to report under the headings above (item 4), the headings should still be included and notation made that there were no issues to report.

AEC annual report template

The following template has been prepared as a guide for AECs, highlighting specific areas which should be included in AEC annual reports.