III.

Legislation

The first British legislation dealing with animal experiments and laboratory conditions was the Cruelty to Animals Act of 1876, which covered experiments “calculated to inflict pain”. This legislation was superseded by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act of 1986, which was consistent with the minimum standards set for animal protection in Europe.

For other countries, legal provisions governing the use of animals for research vary in the level of protection given to animals. In response to these worldwide variations, the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences published, in 1985, a set of International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals, which were intended to provide a “conceptual and ethical framework” for countries with no legislation.

In the United States, the Animal Welfare Act operates as the main federal law relating to laboratory animals but state jurisdictions regulate research specifically; attempts, in 1990, to incorporate new amendments proved problematic.

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act of 1986 controls work in Britain involving the use of “regulated procedures” on “protected animals”. Researchers must gain acceptance from an establishment licensed by the Home Office to perform regulated procedures. These establishments include: laboratories in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry; science departments in universities and medical, dental, and veterinary schools; government departments; research institutes; specific departments in hospitals; and public health laboratories.

Each researcher must obtain a personal licence to certify competence to perform regulated procedures on a programme of work that has Home Office project licence approval. Before the project licence is granted, satisfactory scientific justification has to be outlined in a proposal detailing the purpose, background, and proposed procedures. Home Office Inspectors visit establishments to verify that researchers have complied with the conditions under which licences and certificates were granted.