Animal ethics

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) supports this objective, providing national leadership through the Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes (the Code).

Our position

We recognise that that not all members of the Australian community agree with the use of animals for research purposes. We respect this point of view.

We also recognise that use of animals in research has led to advances from which all Australians have benefited, including new drugs and treatments for chronic diseases such as diabetes and infectious diseases, and therapies such as organ transplantation. The development of viable alternatives to the use of animals in some areas of research has yet to reach a stage where the alternative can totally replace the use of animals.

We expect researchers that we fund to investigate, consider and, where applicable, implement methods that replace, or partially replace, the use of animals, as required under the Code.

We fund health and medical research involving animals only if the research is scientifically valid and of high quality and significance, and the use of animals is justified, ethical, complies with all relevant legislation and the Code, and meets the highest possible standards.

Ensuring the highest possible standards in the care and use of animals in health and medical research is critical to achieving rigorous, reproducible and scientifically valid results.

Openness and transparency

We support openness and transparency in the care and use of animals for scientific purposes. We were involved in the development of the Openness Agreement on Animal Research and Teaching in Australia and are a formal supporter of the Agreement.

National Statement on Animal Welfare

All Australian, state and territory Agriculture Ministers have endorsed Australia’s first National Statement on Animal Welfare. We were involved with the development of the National Statement, which identifies opportunities for sustainable improvements for Australia’s animal welfare system and sets the vision for the renewal of the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy. Supporting documents for the National Statement include a case study about non-animal models.

Enquiries

For further information, contact animal-ethics@nhmrc.gov.au.