Ethics and Resources in Animal-Based Research

Division of Comparative Medicine

Dr. Kate Banks

MSB 1236

k.banks@utoronto.ca

(416) 978-6539

Ethical Imperative

•Sentience, or capacity to perceive stimuli•Capacity to perceive painful stimuli•Responsibilities incurred

Provincial Law

•Animals for Research Act•Requirement for ethical review, training•Provisions for adequate and appropriate anesthesia and analgesia

Animals for Research Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.22

Canadian Council on Animal Care

•Guidelines on animal care •Not federally legislated•GAP certificates•Non-compliance

www.ccac.ca

Funding of Research

CIHR and the CCAC

The Agencies require that:• All the research they fund that involves the use of animals

be approved, in accordance with animal care standards, by the Researcher’s Institution before the work begins.

Policy and Legislation in the event of non-compliance:• Suspension of funding will last until the CCAC reports that

the Institution has initiated the actions required to bring it into compliance.

UofT Policy

•Standard of care to meet or exceed CCAC guidelines•Responsibility to comply with conditions set by CIHR, other public funding agencies•Delegates authority on all matters pertaining to ethics review to ACCs

Animal Care Committees

•Interpret regulatory guidelines other published sources, professional experience •Empowered by UofT, CCAC, Provincial law•Composed of your supervisor’s peers, veterinarians, veterinary technical staff, community representative

CCAC

Supervisor’s Animal Use

Protocol

Supervisor’s Animal Use

Protocol

Animal Care Committee Animals for

Research Act

Office of Research Ethics

• Administration of protocols following review and approval

• Explanation of review process• Animal Use Protocol, amendment forms• Instructions for completing forms

http://www.research.utoronto.ca/ethics/

Animal Use Protocol• The Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy Animal Care Committee is

the committee responsible for reviewing and approving protocols

• FMPACC meets the first Wednesday of each month

• The signed protocol should be delivered to the DCM office (MSB1236) by 4:30 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding the scheduled meeting

• An electronic copy of the protocol must also be submitted to dcm.protocols@utoronto.ca

• It may take 4-6 weeks for the protocol to be processed

www.medresearch.utoronto.ca/dcm_home.html

Resources

• Training (basic & specialized)• DCM staff (protocol review, animal health & welfare,

husbandry, administrative, procedural, technical, animal models, experimental design)

• Office of Research Ethics• Refinement databases (NC3rs, CCAC, AHWLA)• Literature reviews