Animal ethics

Animal research

Researchers at the University of Wollongong conduct a wide range of projects that may involve animals. These are as diverse as observational studies for wildlife conservation through to research involving laboratory mice and rats to study important human diseases.

All these projects are subject to strict regulations. Under the law, no research involving animals may proceed unless it has been approved in advance the University of Wollongong’s Animal Ethics Committee. Membership of this committee must include veterinarians and people with an interest in animal welfare who are completely independent of the University of Wollongong.

Once research has commenced, it is subject to veterinary oversight by the University of Wollongong’s Animal Welfare Officer and inspections by the Animal Ethics Committee.

The University of Wollongong respects the diversity of views relating to animal research in the broader community and has shown leadership in implementing measures to address common ethical concerns. These have included support for the re-homing of animals at the conclusion of research and a funding scheme for projects with the potential to replace, reduce or refine the use of animals in research. The University of Wollongong  is also one of a growing number that offer a teaching module in animal law.

For more information about the role of animals in research more generally, we recommend visiting the Speaking of Research website.  

For information about the regulatory requirements in Australia and NSW please visit Animal Ethics Infolink (developed by the Animal Research Review Panel and NSW Dept. of Primary Industries Animal Welfare Branch)

If you would like additional general information about research involving animals specifically at UoW, please email us at animalresearch-questions@uow.edu.au.  Please note that this email address is only checked intermittently so we might take a few days to get back to you.  For researchers with questions about Animal Ethics processes at UoW please see the relevant boxes below.

Recent developments

UOW is one of the inaugural signatories on the ANZCCART Openness Agreement on Animal Research and Teaching in Australia, making a commitment to greater transparency and accountability in the use of animals in research and teaching. The goal of the agreement is to inform the broader community about how and why animals are used in research, in order to increase public understanding and to respond to welfare concerns. It also provides for great accountability for funding, ensuring ethical and legal controls related to animal care are being followed.

Dr Malcolm France, a veterinarian and Chair of the UOW Animal Research Committee, provides strong support for the Openness Agreement as outlined in his interview with Cosmos magazine in August 2023.

Researcher holding a mouse

On 24 May 2023, Vice-Chancellor Professor Patricia Davidson and Professor Eileen McLaughlin, Executive Dean, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, unveiled the University of Wollongong’s animal memorial statue.

The statue is one of a few, that has been erected at a university throughout Australia and the world. It has been created to acknowledge the role that animals play in research. 

The beautiful statue can be viewed in the garden’s outside Molecular Horizons, building 42.

A big thank you to Dr Sarah Toole, Animal Welfare Officer and Dr Malcolm France, Chair of the Animal Ethics Committee, for arranging the statue.

 

Animal research UOW

Current fields of research that involve animals to varying degrees at the University of Wollongong include:

  • Medical research:
  • Cancer therapy (mice and rats)
  • Nutrition and metabolism (mice and rats)
  • Neurological disease (mice and rats)
  • Immunology (mice)
  • Mental health disease and treatments (mice and rats)
  • Pain (mice, rats, xenopus frogs)
  • Arthritis (rats)

Wildlife, conservation and other research involving animals:

  • Breeding of endangered species (frogs)
  • Impact of habitat loss (observational studies of wildlife)
  • Animal behaviour (fish in field studies and aquariums)
  • Impact of marine parks on biodiversity (field studies)
  • Effect of fire on wildlife (observational studies of wildlife)

Procedures that are NOT conducted at the University of Wollongong include the testing of cosmetics on animals (in fact this is illegal in Australia), the Draize test (in which potentially irritant compounds are dripped into an animal’s eye – this has been illegal for over 30 years in Australia and medical research involving dogs, cats or monkeys (although very occasionally, privately owned pets may be involved with their owner’s permission in non-invasive studies designed to help improve veterinary treatments).

Before conducting or commencing any research investigation, staff and students of the University are required to submit a research ethics application to the University of Wollongong Animal Ethics Committee and obtain approval to ensure that all statutory requirements are met.

 

Laboratory mice and rats are housed under conditions that ensure the health and welfare of the animals is maintained at the highest industry standards. At UoW mice and rats are housed in Ventilated HEPA filtered cages. They are provided with enrichment such as bedding material, nesting material, chew blocks, tunnels and shelters and group housed whenever possible.

The Universtity of Wollongong also has an Ecological research facility which has the facilities required for short term housing of marine species, freshwater fish, lizards, frogs and small native mammals and birds. All housing conditions at the ERC must be approved by the AEC and appropriate for the species.

 

Like all institutions conducting research involving animals, UOW is required to submit a report to the government each year which lists the number of animals used or observed in research projects. The graphs below summarise the total number of animals used in projects over recent years. The number used in wildlife and conservation studies includes large numbers of fish, birds and other native and exotic/feral wildlife that are simply observed directly by researchers in the field and/or monitored by cameras without being trapped/handled.  Small numbers of wildlife including lizards, snakes, small mammals(eg. gliders, possums, antechinus, native rodents) birds and fish are trapped, measured and released at the capture location with some animals (mainly fish, lizards and frogs) retained in onsite field or campus laboratories for physiology/behavioural studies.

UOW Biomedical Animal Use

Graph for the use of Laboratory Mice, Laboratory Rats, Laboratory Xenopus Frogs, Other biomedical (client owned Dogs and Cats) - Please see table for full explanation

UOW Biomedical Animal Use in numbers

Category201620172018201920202021
Laboratory Mice 1416 967 540 852 417 756
Laboratory Rats 588 565 270 442 114 394
Laboratory Xenopus Frogs nil nil nil nil 18 36
Other biomedical (client owned Dogs and Cats) nil nil nil 52 31 nil

UOW Conservation and Marine Animal Use 

UOW Biomedical animal use graph Please see attached table for description

Conservation and Marine Animal Use in numbers

Category201620172018201920202021
Wildlife, conservation and other  9271 8842 8706 10049 7345 11381

Category of Use Biomedical Research

Category of use biomedical research graph - Please see attached table for explanation in numbers

Category of Use Biomedical Research in numbers

Category201920202021
Observation/Minor intervention   54% 4.47% 4.47%
Minor surgery/physiological challenge/non recovery procedures  29.72% 77.32% 77.32%
Major surgery/major physiological challenge 16.20% 14.84% 14.48%

Category of Use Conservation/Marine Research

Category of Use Conservation/Marine Research in numbers - for full explanation please see attached table

Category of Use Conservation/Marine Research in numbers

Category201920202021
Observation/Minor intervention   88.89% 95.94% 92.93%
Minor surgery/physiological challenge/non recovery procedures  10.93% 4.06% 6.77%

 

All research proposals at UOW must address the 3Rs in both the initial application to the AEC and yearly in the annual progress report.

The 3Rs (Replacement with non animal models, Reduction in the number of animals used without increasing the harm to an individual animal, and Refinement of procedures to decrease the impact on animals.)  For more information about the 3Rs please visit Animal ethics info link and The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research.

UOW is committed to supporting the 3Rs.  In 2018 and 2019  small grants were made available for researchers looking at methods to refine currently used animal models of human disease. In 2022 UOW is again offering a small grant ($5 000) for research aimed at addressing one or more of the 3Rs, with matched funding available from MAWA (medical advances without animals) for successful applicants investigating alternatives to the use of animals in Medical Research.

Applying for 2022 3Rs support

Funding is available from the Research Development and Integrity Unit to support small grants which specifically address one of the 3Rs of animal research:

  • Replacement- replacing the use of animals whenever possible with non-animal alternatives.
  • Reduction – methods of reducing the number of animal used in research without increasing the suffering of those animals used.
  • Refinement – methods that decrease the impact of research methods on the animals used or enhance the wellbeing of animals used in research.

Applicants may request funding for project costs up to $5,000 for reduction and refinement initiatives. Projects that do not use animals or their products that are investigating means to replace the use of animals with non-animal alternatives may be eligible for matched funding of $5 000 from The Medical Advances Without Animals Trust (MAWA). In order to receive matched funding replacement projects must also comply with MAWA funding guidelines.

Projects must be completed within 24 months.

Applications close 8th April 2022

Email completed Application form and all requested documents merged into a single PDF to: uow-animalethics@uow.edu.au 

Guidelines and application templates

For further information, please download the scheme Guidelines and Application Templates:

 RDI contacts:

Rochelle Waren (Animal Ethics Officer) uow-animalethics@uow.edu.au

Sarah Toole (Animal Welfare Officer) sarah_toole@uow.edu.au   

 

University of Wollongong - Animal Ethics Committee

Annual Report to the Institution for 2022

In accordance with clause 2.1.10[i] of the Code, the Summary of the AEC’s report to the institution is presented:

This report has been approved by the full Animal Ethics Committee (AEC) following review at its meeting on 30 March 2023.

  • In addition to presenting a summary of statutory reporting data, this report notes the following outcomes and activities:
  • As with the previous year, the largest proportion of projects underway or concluding in 2022 were in environmental research; there were no studies directed towards production of biological products, diagnostic procedures or regulatory product testing.
  • While a substantial majority of projects (93%) in 2022 were minimally invasive, the remaining 7% met the DPI criteria for ‘high impact’ in terms of animal welfare. This was a slight increase compared to the number of high impact projects in the previous year.
  • As has been the case for several years, the AEC neither received nor approved applications to conduct projects involving ‘death as an endpoint’ as defined in the DPI procedure categories.
  • UOW continues to demonstrate a progressive position in relation to industry trends and initiatives such as rehoming of animals, use of inanimate training materials, funding for procedures to reduce the need to use animals for research purposes, and public openness in its animal research activities. Refinements to reduce the animal welfare impact of invasive procedures and in vitro testing of hypotheses before moving to in vivo animal trials are also well-established at UOW.
  • Staff involved in the welfare of animals used in research at UOW received significant recognition during 2022. These included Ms Carlee Mottley who was the recipient of an industry-wide award and was the first animal technician appointed to the NHMRC Animal Welfare Committee, and Dr Sarah Toole who represented UOW at the NSW parliamentary inquiry into animal research and at a government taskforce established in response to the black summer bushfire crisis.
  • The UOW AEC continues to benefit from the participation of specialists in philosophy and statistics – a feature that is uncommon among AECs. The independence of the AEC is strengthened by the fact that on average, nearly two thirds of the members participating in each meeting during 2022 were external to the institution.

Previous years' summaries