Ethics review for animal experiments
Research activity involving animal experiments as defined by the Animal Welfare Act (2018:1192), may require an ethical approval delivered by a regional animal experiment ethics committee, before the experiment begins.
Ethics review and legally defined competence are required for experiments on vertebrates and octopi, including foetus/fry, within activities like:
- scientific research
- diagnosis
- development and manufacture of drugs or chemicals products
- teaching, when it involves killing the animal; surgery, injection or blood draw or any suffering or risk of suffering.
Applications for ethics review are submitted to the Swedish Board of Agriculture. The ethical assessment weighs the significance of the experiment against the animal's suffering. Based on the degree of suffering caused to the animal, the experiment is classified as: terminal, minor, moderate or considerable distress.