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SCAR Code of Conduct for the use of Animals for Scientific Purposes in Antarctica

PREAMBLE

RECOGNIZING that Man has a moral obligation to respect all animals and to have due consideration for their capacity for suffering and memory:

ACCEPTING nevertheless that Man in his quest for knowledge has a need to use animals where there is a reasonable expectation that the result will provide a significant advance in knowledge or be of overall benefit for animals;

RESOLVED to limit the use of animals for experimental and other scientific purposes, with the aim of replacing such use wherever practical, in particular by seeking alternative measures and encouraging the use of these alternative measures;

DESIRING to adopt common provisions in order to protect animals used in those procedures which may possibly cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm and to ensure that where unavoidable they shall be kept to a minimum;

SCAR has adopted a code of conduct which is based on the international guiding principles for biomedical research involving animals as developed by the Council for International Organization of Medical Sciences.

CODE OF CONDUCT

I. The advancement of biological knowledge and the development of improved means to the protection of the health and well-being both of man and of the animals require recourse to experimentation on intact live mammals and birds of a wide variety of species.
II. Methods such as mathematical models, computer simulation and in vitro biological systems should be used wherever appropriate.
III. Animal experiments should be undertaken only after due consideration of their relevance for human or animal health and the advancement of biological knowledge.
IV. The animals selected for an experiment should be of an appropriate species and quality, and the minimum number required to obtain scientifically valid results.
V. Investigators and other personnel should never fail to treat animals as sentient, and should regard their proper care and use and the avoidance or minimization of discomfort, distress, or pain as ethical imperatives.
VI. Investigators should assume that procedures that would cause pain in human beings cause pain in other mammals and in birds.
VII. Procedures with animals that may cause more than momentary or minimal pain or distress should be performed with appropriate sedation, analgesia, or anesthesia in accordance with accepted veterinary practice. Surgical or other painful procedures should not be performed on unanesthetized animals paralyzed by chemical agents.
VIII. Where waivers are required in relation to the provisions of article VII, the decisions should not rest solely with the investigators directly concerned but should be made, with due regard to the provisions of articles IV, V and VI, by a suitably constituted review body. Such waivers should not be made solely for the purposes of teaching or demonstration
IX. At the end, or, when appropriate, during an experiment animals that would otherwise suffer severe or chronic pain, distress, discomfort, or disablement that cannot be relieved should be painlessly killed.
X. The best possible living conditions and supervision should be maintained for animals kept for biomedical purposes.
XI. It is the responsibility of the director of an institute or department using animals to ensure that investigators and personnel have appropriate qualifications or experience for conducting procedures on animals. Adequate opportunities shall be provided for in-service training, including the proper and humane concern for the animals under their care.