Ministry for Primary Industries Manato Ahu Matua

Transcription

1 Ministry for Primary Industries Manato Ahu Matua SCR lan McKelvie Chairperson Primary Production Committee Dear lan McKelvie Government Response to Petition of Tara Jackson on behalf of the New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society and Helping You Help Animals calling on the House of Representatives to pass legislation to introduce a mandatory animal retirement policy for animals used in research, education and teaching. The 'Out of the Labs' petition requests amendment to Part 6 of the Animal Welfare Act 1999 to include a mandatory retirement policy for research animals. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) acknowledges the intent of the petition, but does not support introducing a mandatory animal retirement policy for animals used in research, testing and teaching. The rationale is set out below. The National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee (NAEAC), a statutory committee which advises the Minister for Primary Industries on ethical and welfare issues arising from the use of live animals in research, testing and teaching has also been asked to provide written evidence to the select committee. The submission asserts that a mandatory retirement policy for research animals is required because these animals are usually euthanased without any attempt by researchers to rehabilitate or rehome them. Most of the research carried out in New Zealand does not result in the death or euthanasia of the animals concerned. Appendix 1 shows the total number of animals used in 2015 according to type, and the outcome for those animals. After use, 60.9% of animals remained alive. Of those alive, 9.9% were retained by the institution; 53.8% were returned to owners; 25.7% were released to the wild; and 10.7% were disposed of to others (this includes rehoming). The most commonly reported species in 2015 was cattle, followed by mice, fish and then sheep. Veterinary research, animal husbandry research, teaching and basic biological research were the main reasons for using production animals. Rodents were primarily Growing and Protectin New Zealand Regulation & Assurance Animal & Animal Products Pastoral House, 25 The Terrace, PO Box 2526 Wellington 6140, New Zealand Telephone: , Facsimile:

2 2 used in medical research, testing the safety and efficacy of animal health products (which is mandated by regulation) and basic biological research. Mandatory retirement policy The submission states that animal rescuers have expertise regarding the rehabilitation and rehoming of animals that laboratory technicians and scientists do not. It is not the purpose of research, testing and teaching organisations to rehabilitate animals, but they are required to have expertise in their housing and care. Code holders (which are described in Appendix 2) must specify policies and procedures relating to the animal management practices and facilities to be undertaken to ensure that owners or persons in charge of animals used in research, testing and teaching attend properly to the welfare of those animals. The NAEAC publication Good Practice Guide for the Use of Animals in Research, Testing and Teachinfl provides guidance on what constitutes 'good practice'. The guide encompasses all aspects of the care and use of animals for scientific purposes in medicine, biology, agriculture, veterinary and other animal sciences, industry and teaching. It includes their use in research, teaching, field trials, and product testing. Most animal rescue centres primarily deal with companion animals such as cats and dogs. The 2015 statistics show that cats and dogs made up only 0.6% of the number of animals used in research, testing and teaching. While it is possible that rescue centres may be able to rehome the limited number of cats and dogs that are used for such purposes, it is unlikely that they would have the expertise to rehabilitate and rehome other species, such as livestock, reptiles, rats, mice and fish. It is also unlikely that members of the public would want to adopt such animals as pets. The PowerPoint presentation accompanying the petition recommends a small amendment to the Animal Welfare Act and includes 4 specific points as proposed wording. MPI does not consider an amendment to the Act is required as the current Animal Welfare (Record and Statistics) Regulations 1999 already require the purpose of the manipulation and outcome for the animal to be reported to MPI. Reference is also made to a 2011 rescue of beagles from a New Zealand research facility called Valley Animal Research Centreii and the 'Beagle Bill', passed in five American States. It is unclear whether New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society and Helping You Help Animals have a focus on rehoming E.!! animals or just companion animals, such as cats and dogs, as wording for the second recommendation states that "animal rescue organisations are not obliged to accept any animal offered by a research facility for adoption". The submission does not address the practicalities of relocating thousands of research animals to rescue centres and whether those rescue centres are sufficiently resourced to house and care for such animals. Animal rescue centres often rely on public donations for funding and are staffed by volunteers. To summarize, it is unclear: Whether the rehoming policy applies to all animals; Who would be classified as an animal rescue organisation;

3 3 What 'good faith' attempt means in the mandatory retirement policy; Whether the code holder/animal ethics committee can be satisfied that the animals who have been through research projects could then be cared for adequately by the rescue centres; Whether mandatory rehoming would provide the best welfare outcome for animals. Summary of MPI's comment on the submission MPI considers that the current regulatory system (outlined in Appendix 2) provides sufficient oversight and protection for animals used in research, testing and teaching. Continuing to improve the welfare of animals used in research, testing and teaching can be addressed through non-regulatory means. The organisers of the petition state that they are in the process of creating a database of facilities which are available to rehome research animals. MPI would be willing to advise code holders and AECs about the database and facilitate information exchange between the various parties. Yours sincerely Bryan Wilson Deputy Director-General, Regulation & Assurance

4 Appendix 1: Number of Animals Used in Research, Testing and Teaching in New Zealand in 2015 Animal Category Animal Total used Retained by Returned to Released to Disposed of to Alive Dead institution owner the wild others iii Birds Fowls, 3, ,181 1,870 chickens Other birds 12, , , Pigeons Farm Animals Cattle 59,330 4, ,048 58, Deer 8, , , Goats 2, , , Pigs Shee_g_ 23,474 3,544 15, ,361 20,876 2,598 Miscellaneous Amphibia 1, , Cephalopo 2, , , d/ crustacea Fish 40,764 1,777 1,485 14,762 2,655 20,679 20,085 Marine mammals Possums 2, ,496 Reptiles 4, , , Other Other speciesiv Other Domestic Cats Mammals Dogs Horses Rabbits Rabbits 1, ,339 Rodents Guinea 1, ,869 pigs Mice 48, Rats 9, ,235 8, ,310 13,591 73,725 35,179 14, ,110 88,200

5 Appendix 2: New Zealand regulatory system Codes of ethical conduct The use of animals in research, testing and teaching is regulated by Part 6 of the Animal Welfare Act 1999 (the Act). This legislation requires all research, testing and teaching involving the manipulation of live animals to be carried out in accordance with a code of ethical conduct recommended by NAEAC and approved by the Director-General of MPI. There are currently 26 code holders and 109 organisations that have a notified arrangement to operate using another organisation's code and animal ethics committee (AEC). Animal ethics committees All code holders are required to establish and maintain an AEC. These committees must include at least three people from outside the organisation: a veterinarian nominated by the New Zealand Veterinary Association; a nominee of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; a nominee of a territorial authority or regional council. It is the function of the AEC to approve (or not) individual projects. In deciding whether to approve a project, AECs must be satisfied that the likely benefits of the project are not outweighed by any likely harm to the animals. AECs must also consider whether a suitable alternative exists as part of their role in promoting the Three Rs (replacement of animals in research, testing and teaching; reduction of the number of animals used; and refinement of procedures to minimise animal pain and suffering). When considering applications for project approvals, AECs must have regard to a number of criteria specified in the Act including: the scientific or educational objectives of the project; the harm to or distress felt by the animals and the extent to which that can be alleviated; whether the design of the experiment or demonstration is such that it is reasonable to expect the objectives will be met; the factors taken into account in the choice of species; whether the number of animals is the minimum necessary to achieve meaningful results. AECs have additional legal functions of monitoring compliance with project approvals and monitoring animal management practices and facilities. There are currently 30 AECs as some institutions, because of their geographic spread, operate more than one committee. Page i of

6 ii Independent reviews In addition to monitoring undertaken by AECs, the Act requires that all code holders undergo periodic independent reviews to determine compliance with the Act and code of ethical conduct. These reviews must be carried out by a reviewer accredited by MPI for the purpose. Both MPI and NAEAC receive the reviewer's report and MPI must determine whether or not a satisfactory level of compliance has been achieved and if not, what steps must be taken to achieve satisfactory compliance. Animal Welfare Amendment Act (No 2) 2015 Changes to Part 6 of the Act brought about by the Animal Welfare Amendment Act (No 2) 2015 included: An immediate ban on the use of animals to test finished cosmetic products or ingredients for use exclusively in cosmetics. To the best of our knowledge there has never been any animal testing for cosmetics in New Zealand. A requirement for AECs to consider whether a proposal for a project has both adequately assessed the suitability of using non-sentient or non-living alternatives and replacement with such alternatives. Although this is something AECs have done implicitly through application of the Three Rs (i.e. replacement, reduction and refinement), the Amendment Act made this an explicit obligation. Amending the definition of "manipulation" (from 1 January 2018) to include: ~ Animals killed for the purposes of undertaking research on their body parts or tissue; and ~ The act of breeding an animal that may result in the birth of an animal more susceptible to, or in greater risk of, pain or distress during its life (for the purpose of using the offspring for research). The Animal Welfare (Records and Statistics) Regulations 1999 The Animal Welfare (Records and Statistics) Regulations 1999 require organisations or individuals with a code of ethical conduct, or an arrangement to use a code, to keep records and submit statistics annually to MPI on animals used in research, testing and teaching on or before 28 February each year. These regulations require the following information to be recorded and submitted to MPI: The type and number of animals used; Where the animals were sourced from; The status of the animals; The purpose for which the animals were used; Whether the animals were used previously or not; The impact of the manipulation on the animals; The fate of the animals at the end of the manipulation. Page ii of iii

7 Iii 2015 animal use statistics The animal use statistics for 2016 are not yet publically available but in 2015, a total of225,310 animals were reported as manipulated for the purposes of research, testing and teaching. Statistics from the organisations and individuals who are approved to use animals for research, testing or teaching are aggregated, and this information is published by MPI each year. The 2015 report, titled Statistics on the Use of Animals in Research, Testing and Teaching in New Zealand in 2015 is publically available on the MPI websitev. The submission states that New Zealand euthanases over 80,000 animals used for research, testing and teaching every year and that these statistics do not include animals in breeding units. In comparison to the millions of animals slaughtered in New Zealand for food the same yearvi the amount of animals killed for research, testing and teaching is small. The total number of animals euthanased for research, testing and teaching varies each year, but in 2015, totalled 88,200 animals. While statistics collected by MPI do not currently include numbers on animals kept in breeding units, an amendment to the Animal Welfare (Records and Statistics) Regulations 1999 which is pending, will require code holders from 1 January 2018, to record the number of animals bred for the purposes of research, testing and teaching but not used (i.e. surplus animals). This amendment will increase transparency on the number of animals killed for the purposes of research, testing and teaching. i Good Practice Guide to the Use of Animals in Research, Testing and Teaching mpi. govt. nzldocument-vault/3660 ii The code of ethical conduct for Valley Animal Research Centre was suspended in 2012 and revoked in August 2015 at the request of the code holder. Iii Disposed of refers to being given or sold to others. This includes animals which are rehomed at the end of the study. It also includes animals sent to freezing works or slaughterhouses subsequent to the manipulation. iv In 2015, the 'other species' group was made up of 311 bats, 217 alpacas, 65 stoats, 5 llamas, and 2 each of cheetahs, chinchillas and donkeys. v Statistics on the Use of Animals in Research, Testing and Teaching in New Zealand in nztdocument-vault/ vi MPI Statistics and Links nzlnews-and-resources/open-data-and-forecasting/agricult ure/ Page iii of iii