Animal Welfare for schools and early childhood centres

Animals are brought into centres and schools for a number of reasons.

These include:

• For observation as a loved pet. (This does not require animal ethics approval).
• As a centre or classroom pet. (This does not require animal ethics approval).
• For pet days where students and teachers share their feelings for their pets and appropriate care is observed and rewarded. (This does not require animal ethics approval).
• For science, biology, equine, animal care, aquaculture and agriculture teaching (This requires animal ethics approval).
• For individual investigations for Science and Technology Fairs, CREST Awards, Bright Sparks and other similar events. (This requires animal ethics approval).

In many senior school settings students will observe and investigate animals in their natural habitat. Observation only does not require approval; however observations which interfere with hierarchy such as “pecking order” in fowls or groupings in dairy herds do require approval prior to the work being carried out.

For many students these activities may provide for them the opportunity to:

• Have a shared pet.
• Respect animals as living organisms.
• Learn about the welfare issues of animals and how these needs must be met at all times.
• Observe the complete life history of an animal.
• Identify and investigate the range of environmental, physiological and behavioural factors influencing living animals.
• Understand the complexity of environmental interactions involving animals.

You are referred to “Caring for Animals” for information relating to keeping animals in the classroom. For any activities requiring ethics approval, please click here...

Animal Welfare Act 1999

The Animal Welfare Act 1999 aims to prevent ill-treatment and inadequate care of animals by imposing requirements on those who own or are in charge of animals. Section 6 of the Act refers particularly to the use of animals in research, testing or teaching. The provisions of this section include:

• Greater ethical guidance for decision makers including an express requirement for AECs, when considering project applications, to be satisfied that the benefits outweigh the harm and to promote the "three R's" (reduce the numbers of animals used to the minimum, refine techniques so the harm is minimised and benefits maximised, and replace animals where possible with non-living or non-sentient alternatives);
• Where considered necessary by the Animal Ethics Committee, a focus on monitoring of projects to ensure compliance with the conditions of project approval;
• A substantial increase in penalties for breach of the Act or regulations. Fines rise from a maximum of $5,000 to a maximum of $25,000 for an individual and a maximum of $125,000 for a body corporate. Imprisonment (which may be imposed on individuals in addition to, or instead of a fine) rises from a maximum of three months to a maximum of six months;
• Special provisions covering research, testing and teaching on non-human hominids.

The definition of an animal includes:

• All vertebrates.
• Lower vertebrates (amphibians, fish);
• A small number of invertebrates (octopus, squid, crab, lobster, crayfish); and
• Mammalian fetuses, avian or reptilian pre-hatched young in the last half of gestation or development and marsupial pouch young. This acknowledges that fetuses and embryonated eggs may be sensitive to noxious stimuli.

"Manipulation" is a legal term defined as:

"Interfering with the normal physiological, behavioural, or anatomical integrity of the animal by deliberately -

i. Subjecting it to a procedure which is unusual or abnormal when compared with that to which animals of that type would be subjected under normal management or practice and which involves -

1. Exposing the animal to any parasite, micro-organism, drug, chemical, biological product, radiation, electrical stimulation, or environmental condition; or
2. Enforced activity, restraint, nutrition, or surgical intervention; or

ii. Depriving the animal of usual care..."

3.2 Exclusions

The following situations are excluded from the definition of manipulation and are thus not subject to the requirements of Part 6:

(i) Any therapy or prophylaxis necessary or desirable for the welfare of the animal (section 3(2)(a)).

This means that the administration of therapeutic drugs or vaccines or other medical treatment, carried out for the welfare of the animal as part of normal veterinary or owner practice, is not subject to the requirements in the Act.

(ii) The killing of an animal as the end point of research, testing or teaching or in order to undertake research, testing, or teaching on the dead animal, if the animal is killed in such a manner that the animal does not suffer unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress (sections 3(2)(b) and (c)).

(iii) The hunting or killing of any animal in a wild state by a method that is not an experimental method (section 3(2)(d)).

This provides that the hunting or killing of animals in a wild state (e.g. hunting or fishing for sport, commercial purposes or to assist management*) is not a manipulation except where an experimental method is being used. An example of an experimental method is the trialling of a new type of trap by a research institution. The development and trial is likely to require Animal Ethics Committee approval. If the trap was demonstrated to be effective and subsequently made available by the developers for sale or routine use, Animal Ethics Committee approval would no longer be required.

(iv) Any procedure that the Minister declares not to be a manipulation for the purposes of the Act (sections 3(2)(e) and 3(3)).

Section 3(3) provides for the Minister, after consideration of a number of specified matters and after consultation with NAEAC, to declare any procedure not to be a manipulation. Notification is by notice in the Gazette (a weekly Government publication). This recognises that some procedures, when first introduced, may fall within the definition of manipulation because they are novel or unusual but that this can change. Over time, they may eventually be used by a significant number of people and be regarded by the majority as standard practice. This mechanism enables such practices to be moved from being "manipulations" requiring AEC approval to being regarded as standard management practices that do not require such approval.

* For example, the use of electric fishing devices to monitor fish stocks and capture fish for relocation and the use of traps to test the efficacy of pest control operations.

3.3 The definition of "research, testing, and teaching (section 5)

When an animal is manipulated its integrity is interfered with in some way. The types of interference subject to legislative intervention have been covered above. Section 5 covers the types of work involving manipulation that are subject to Part 6 of the Act.

"Research, testing, and teaching is defined as:

(a) Any work (being investigative work or experimental work or diagnostic work or toxicity testing work or potency testing work) that involves the manipulation of any animal; or

(b) Any work that -

i. Is carried out for the purpose of producing antisera or other biological products; and
ii. Involves the manipulation of any animal; or

(c) Any teaching that involves the manipulation of any animal.

The section contains two exemptions from the definition.

i. Any manipulation of an animal in the immediate care of a veterinarian where the manipulation is either for clinical purposes (to diagnose disease or assess the effectiveness of a proposed treatment) or for assessing the characteristics of an animal with a view to maximising the productivity of the animal (for example the sporidesmin test for facial eczema susceptibility and the "Blockey" test for assessing the libido of bulls).
The term "in the immediate care of a veterinarian" covers normal veterinary practice where:

• The veterinarian has accepted responsibility from the owner or person in charge of the animal for the health and welfare of the animal; and
• is providing the animal with direct and continuing care.

The section contains a proviso that the veterinarian must believe on reasonable grounds that the manipulation will not cause the animal unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress, or lasting harm.

ii. Routine manipulations that are undertaken by management agencies fulfilling responsibilities or functions under legislation administered by DOC and under the Fisheries Act 1996.

Such manipulations are generally on animals in a wild state and are required as part of the day-to-day management or research responsibilities of these agencies. An example is the attachment of transmitters and bands to track animals and monitor distribution patterns. Well-trained staff carry out these manipulations in accordance with standard operating procedures. Note that this exemption does not apply to organisations, such as universities, that do not have statutory management responsibilities for the management of animals in a wild state.

3.4 The use of animals in schools for teaching purposes

Most classroom animal use in New Zealand involves family pets brought to school for simple observation and behaviour studies and for learning the responsibilities of humane care. Such use does not constitute a manipulation and thus does not require AEC approval.

A range of simple studies can be fun for children and do not require the administrative complications of AEC approval. These include:

• Observation of behaviour;
• Observation of body structure and function;
• Measurement of growth e.g. regular weighing to chart a growth curve;
• Identification of diet preferences, and food "treats";
• Observation of animal response to different cage equipment such as tubes, platforms and ramps;
• Breeding to teach reproduction and development; and
• Animal care and handling techniques.

Schools are referred to a 1999 publication from the Ministry of Education Caring for Animals - a guide for teachers, early childhood educators and students.

If activities are beyond the type described above, and constitute a manipulation as defined in the Act, then a school would need to comply with Part 6.

The Five Freedoms

Animals have the freedom to experience all of the following:

• Proper and sufficient food and water.
• Adequate shelter.
• The opportunity to display normal patterns of behaviour.
• Appropriate physical handling.
• Protection from, and rapid diagnosis of, injury and disease.

The 3R’s

In 1959 two UK scientists, Russell and Burch, introduced to scientific researchers the 3R’s concept as goals for animal welfare in research and teaching

• Replacement
  Using alternatives to live animals eg. computer simulations.
• Reduction
  Improving experimental design to ensure that no fewer and no more animals are used than are required to achieve the objectives of the work.
• Refinement
  Minimising pain and suffering by refining techniques, eg enhanced environment, pain relief.

“Manipulation” (using an animal) means...

Interfering with the normal physiological, behavioural, or anatomical integrity of the animal by deliberately:

a) subjecting it to a procedure which is unusual or abnormal when compared with that to which animals of that type would be subjected under normal management of practice and which involves,

i) Exposing the animal to any parasite, micro-organism, drug, chemical, biological product, radiation, electrical stimulation, or environmental condition; OR

ii) enforced activity, restraint, nutrition, or surgical intervention; OR

iii) depriving it of usual care.

Ethical approval is legally required only if live animals are to be used for teaching... (and other specific purposes)

“animal” means any live member of the animal kingdom that is a mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish (bony or cartilaginous), octopus, squid, crab, lobster or crayfish (including freshwater crayfish), and includes any marsupial pouch young or mammalian foetus, or any avian or reptilian pre-hatched young, that is in the last half of its period of gestation or development.

The Three Rs (section 80(2)(b))

This is a set of principles to guide decisions on the use of animals in research, testing and teaching that were first enunciated in 1957. They are:

(i) "To reduce the number of animals used in research, testing, and teaching to the minimum necessary:

(ii) To refine techniques used in any research, testing, and teaching so that the harm caused to the animals is minimised and the benefits maximised:

(iii) To replace animals as subjects for research, and testing by substituting, where appropriate, non-sentient or non-living alternatives:

(iv) To replace the use of animals in teaching by substituting for animals, where appropriate, non-sentient or non-living alternatives or by imparting the information in another way."

The NZ Association of Science Educators has been granted a Code of Ethical Conduct for the use of animals in teaching and research in schools and early childhood centres. The NZASE Animal Ethics Committee can be contacted at animalethicscommittee@nzase.org.nz