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Animal Ethics FAQs |
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Research involving the use of animals for scientific purposes at QUT (conducted by staff and/or students) must be undertaken in accordance with the Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes (Scientific Code). The following information is based on the requirements of the Scientific Code and should be read in conjunction with that document.
What is using animals for a scientific purpose?Before describing what constitutes use of an animal for a scientific purpose, it is worth considering what is an animal. Under the Queensland Animal Care and Protection Act 2001, an animal is any live vertebrate including amphibians, birds, fish, mammals and reptiles. Animals also include live pre-natal or pre-hatched creatures in the last half of gestation, e.g. a mammalian or reptilian foetus, pre-hatched avian, mammalian or reptilian young and live marsupial young. Cephalopod invertebrates such as octopus, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus are also included as animals. However a human being or human foetus is not an animal, nor are the eggs, spat or spawn of fish. The Scientific Code encompasses all aspects of the care and use of, or interaction with, animals for scientific purposes in medicine, biology, agriculture, veterinary and other animal sciences, industry and teaching. It includes their use in research, teaching, field trials, product testing, diagnosis, the production of biological products and environmental studies. Do I need animal ethics clearance?A limited range of animal use falls outside the scope of requiring review by the UAEC. However QUT needs to be satisfied that the use meets the requirements of the Scientific Code and is ethically acceptable. Therefore, a proponent must still provide some level of information to allow this determination to be made and recorded. This is achieved via submission of simple notification forms to the Research Ethics Unit outlining the nature of your work. These forms can be found in the Animal Ethics Resource Kit In general, the following use of animals can be outside the scope of UAEC review:
You should discuss whether an application is required with your local Faculty Research Ethics Advisor and/or the Research Ethics Unit. If your use is not exempt from review you will need to submit a full application to the University Animal Ethics Committee (UAEC). How do I submit an application?All forms required for making any type of submission to the UAEC can be found by downloading the Animal Ethics Resource Kit. This ZIP folder can be downloaded to your computer and contains items such as:
It is highly recommended that you discuss any applications with your Faculty Research Ethics Advisor and the QUT Animal Welfare Officer prior to submission. Committee applications must be approved by a quorate meeting of the University Animal Ethics Committee (UAEC). The following drop down list provides the submission dates for applications to be received by the Research Ethics Unit Please note we would like to receive both an electronic copy and hard copy of your application. The electronic copy should be placed within a compressed ZIP folder and emailed to ethicscontact@qut.edu.au How long does the review process take?It is important to note that compiling your ethics application may take many weeks, and it is important that you consider ethical and welfare implications from the outset of formulating your proposal. This not only ensures that the project is designed with ethical and welfare considerations in place, but also minimises "surprises" over the length of time approval may take - which may impact on your ability to conduct the project. New applications for the use of animals can only be considered at a face-to-face, qourate meeting of the UAEC. These meetings occur approximately every two months. You should receive feedback on your application approximately 2-3 weeks after the meeting date. I have approval to use animals but need to make some changes to what I'm doing. How do I do this?Your use of animals must be as described in your original application and as approved by the UAEC. However, it is recognised that from time to time you will need to make variations to the conduct of your study. If you need to conduct your use differently to that described you will need to submit a variation request to the UAEC. Your variation request should detail the justification and rationale for the change, and any likely impact on the welfare of the animals. Your previously approved application should be resubmitted with 'track changes' to clearly highlight the variations. A variation request form is contained within the Animal Ethics Resource Kit. Unexpected Adverse Events or IncidentsThe Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals requires:
Dependant on circumstances, it is suggested that when an unexpected, adverse event occurs any ongoing activities cease until cause has been established and suitable corrective action taken to minimise any possible re-occurrence. An Adverse Event Notification Form is contained within the Animal Ethics Resource Kit.
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