Responsibilities of the principal investigator and the University's ethical framework

The PI is primarily responsible for all work undertaken under approval of the AEC. Prior to the submission of an application, the PI must have completed the New PI training module as specified by the AEC.

In addition, all other members of a research team must attend the Module 1 - Legislation training module as specified by the AEC to ensure that they understand their legislative and institutional responsibilities.

Compliance issues will be dealt with in the first instance by the animal welfare officer (AWO), who will report on the issue at the next AEC meeting. If an incident is considered to involve a serious compromise of animal welfare or breach of conditions, the AWO will report the incident to the chair as soon as possible.

Response options may include one or more of the following: requiring an amendment to an approval, temporary restrictions imposed, additional education and/or retraining, a temporary cessation of specific activities, or permanent withdrawal of approval. This is done by the AWO, the chair or delegate of the chair.

PIs shall submit an end-of-approval report (EOA) at the end of the three-year approval, or at the end of any extension(s) granted. The EOA must be submitted within three months of the end of the project using a report in Ethics RM and will be reviewed and accepted at a subsequent AEC meeting.

Applicants will be issued with an approval letter if the report is satisfactory or if required to make amendments to the report for re-review by the chair.

End of approval grading

After reviewing the grading of the manipulations as reported in the EOA and those proposed in the approved application, the animal ethics secretariat will report any discrepancy to the AEC for discussion at the next meeting.

End of approval statistics

Submitted animal usage reports are added to the AEC annual statistics report to MPI. The AEC will receive the animal use statistics for approval at the next AEC meeting as part of the end of approval report.

An animal usage return must be submitted at the following times:

1. When the maximum approved number of animals has been used
2. When the approval has been revoked by the AEC or terminated by the principal investigator
3. At the end of the original three-year approval period
4. Again, for any subsequent calendar year into which the approval was extended

Reports need to be prepared in Ethics RM and submitted by the end of January of the following year.

Applicants must treat animals in their control with due care and consideration for their welfare and use animals in such a way as to cause them minimal stress and suffering. Sick or injured animals must be attended to immediately, including obtaining veterinary advice and/or care. The AEC can direct that sick or injured animals be properly cared for, and if appropriate, euthanised.

The application process for approval of an SOP is the same as for research, testing and teaching applications. The approval process for a University Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is also available on this site: Applying for an SOP.

SOPs must be reviewed at regular intervals by the owner of the SOP in consultation with the AWO to ensure that all policies and procedures are up to date. SOPs should be reviewed at least yearly and revised every three years, with an updated version submitted in Ethics RM for AEC review and inclusion in the SOP database.

Animal facility SOPs

An internal audit against all animal facility SOPs must be completed and reported annually to the AEC as part of the submission of required facility reports. Minor adjustments to a facility SOP can be reported in this audit. However, any major modification to an SOP will require prior AEC approval following the same process as submitting an amendment to an application.

Non-facility SOPs

Project SOPs associated with research or teaching should be reviewed at a minimum every three years, at the time of reapplication.

Modification to an SOP will require prior AEC approval following the same process as submitting an amendment to an application.

If any unexpected events occur before, during or after manipulations that affect animal welfare, they need to be reported as soon as possible. Urgent welfare concerns must be acted upon immediately by contacting a team leader or unit manager. Expected adverse events are to be detailed in the animal ethics application.

Sick or injured animals

Sick or injured animals must be attended to immediately, including reporting to the facility manager and obtaining veterinary advice and/or care. The AEC can direct that sick or injured animals be properly cared for, and if appropriate, euthanised.

All deaths (animals found dead or euthanised) occurring prior to the planned end of an experiment must be notified to the AWO (in order for a post-mortem examination to be conducted). Any welfare incident involving sick or injured animals or unexpected adverse event(s) will be reported to the next AEC meeting as part of the AWO monthly report.

The AEC determines whether the proposed impact grading listed in each application is correct based on the information published by MPI in the Animal Use Statistics report, and also based on the expertise and knowledge of the committee and the details of the specific application.

Euthanasia for the purposes of tissue collection or dissection requires an AEC application to be submitted to and approved by the AEC. Surplus tissues not being used by the particular research group may be made available to other research groups or used for teaching purposes.

Animal Ethics Committee
Email: animalethics@auckland.ac.nz

Animal welfare officer (AWO)
Email: awo@auckland.ac.nz