Integrity, Ethics and Compliance
At Charles Sturt University, we primarily operate within NSW, but we also consider legislation from other states and territories.
This is important if you're involved in teaching or research outside NSW. Sometimes, you'll hear the term 'standard' used for legally enforceable rules, while 'guideline' refers to recommended practices. However, this isn't always true in Australia. An example is when the 'standard' is National, as the Federal government has limited ability to propose and publish animal welfare legislation.
Understand your requirements when an adverse event occurs.
The Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes 8th Edition 2013 (updated 2021) (the Code) defines an adverse event as “any event that has a negative impact on the wellbeing of an animal.
ARRP (Animal Research and Review Panel) Policies and Guidelines
Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines - these apply to livestock and represent revisions of the previous ‘Model Codes of Practice for the Welfare of Animals (MCOP)’. The standards are expected to be legally enforceable (‘must’), while the guidelines are recommended practices (‘should’). Some are still being developed.
N.B. although the intention is that the standards will be legally binding, this is not necessarily the case at this stage - they have to be referred to by state legislation to become legally binding, or a national law will need to be developed.
Care and Management of Farm (working) Dogs Code of Practice
Model Codes of Practice for the Welfare of Animals CSIRO - these Codes are being revised and replaced by the ‘Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines’ (see link above). They are not legally binding but can be used to inform legal proceedings.
NSW DPI Animal Welfare- parent site for the Department of Primary Industries Animal Welfare section, with links to pages dealing with sub-sectors (e.g. Animals in research and teaching, Companion Animal Welfare)
Animal Research Review Panel Guideline 3 - Collaborative Research between Accredited Animal Research Establishments - link to the document to define collaborative research and the template to use for the agreement to capture all the required information.
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) 2017 (Updated July 2018), Best practice methodology in the use of animals for scientific purposes - Provides advice on the conduct of animal-based studies in line with the code to ensure that studies are rigorous, transparent and reproducible and lead to useful outcomes.
Queensland Government – survey guidelines for a variety of species
The Law Society of NSW – Animal law policy submissions
Law society of NSW Animal Law Committee - young lawyers who advocate for animal welfare, including submissions to public inquiries.
Lawyers for animals- animal welfare advocates with legal training
Animal Law Institute – national non-profit community legal centre.
McEwen, G et al (2011) Animal Law: Principles and Frontiers book written by a Victorian barrister, presents systematic examination of legislation and analyses challenges to, and weaknesses of, existing laws.
Boom, K & Ellis, E. (2009) Enforcing animal welfare law: the NSW experience 2009, 6-32. – dated but potentially still useful paper examining the challenges of animal welfare law implementation.
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) – includes links to European Directives, OIE and the Council of Europe.
Voiceless animal law education page - Voiceless are strong advocates for improving animal welfare using the legal system, particularly in advocating for more teaching of animal-based law.
State, Territory and some regional government departments
Resources including animal welfare and multi- and interdisciplinary enterprises:
Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART)– provides information about animals in research and teaching and organises yearly conferences.
Animal Welfare in Australia federal government site
ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines- guidelines published in July 2020 with the aim of improving animal-based research. Companion paper is PREPARE.
Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness– 2012 declaration by world leaders in multiple disciplines regarding consciousness in animals.
Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations (FELASA) – represents common interests in the furtherance of all aspects of laboratory animal science in Europe and beyond.
Five Domains papers - David J Mellor
Five Freedoms – original formulation of the five freedoms with a brief description of how they came about.
Wildlife Health Australia -Wildlife guidelines
ONE HEALTH AMRRIC- Animal Management in Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities one health programs
ONE HEALTH Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – USA government site addressing One Health. Some useful information about zoonotic diseases, including detailed information from the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID).
ONE WELFARE Australian University’s site- site addressing a broad range of ethics and welfare concerns. Includes some self-paced training videos, although you may have to apply for an account to access some of them.
ONE WELFARE World site - gives overview of concepts and practices.
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Zoobiquity Conference - Interdisciplinary group that encourages human physicians to integrate and interact with veterinarians, evolutionary biologists etc.
NSW Government Wildlife Surveys
World Organisation for Animal Health - Some animal journals noting this is not an exhaustive list
ALTEX (Alternatives to Animal Experimentation) publishes research on the development and promotion of alternatives to animal experiments.
Animals is an international and interdisciplinary scholarly open access journal. It publishes reviews, regular research papers, communications, and short notes that are relevant to any field of study that involves animals, including zoology, ethnozoology, animal science, animal ethics and animal welfare.
Animal Welfare publishes scientific research and technical studies related to the welfare of animals on farms, in zoos, in laboratories, as companions or living in the wild.
Applied Animal Behaviour Science is an international journal reporting on the application of ethology to animals managed by humans and publishes relevant information on the behaviour of animals used for a variety of purposes. Topics covered include: behaviour of farm, zoo, and laboratory animals in relation to animal management and welfare; behaviour of companion animals in relation to behavioural problems; applied studies of the behaviour of wild animals; and methodological studies in relevant fields.
ATLA (Alternatives to Laboratory Animals) publishes research covering all aspects of the development, validation, introduction, and use of alternatives to laboratory animals in biomedical research and toxicity testing.
Comparative Medicine finished in December 2024 but published scholarly articles about animal models, animal biology, laboratory animal medicine, laboratory animal pathology, animal behaviour, animal biotechnology and other related topics.
JAALAS is the journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS), replacing the Comparative Medicine journal,
JAAWS (Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science) publishes articles and reports discussing methods of experimentation, husbandry and care that enhance the welfare of animals in laboratories, farms, homes and the wild.
Laboratory Animals is an international journal that covers all aspects of laboratory animal science in biomedical research. Emphasis is given to research that reduces the number of animals used, or refinements for animal-based procedures, leading to improvements in animal welfare.
Toxicology In Vitro publishes original research papers and reviews on the application and use of in vitro systems for assessing or predicting the toxic effects of chemicals and elucidating their mechanisms of action.