carried out, it must be part of a program specified in a project license and carried
out by a person holding appropriate personal license authorities. In addition, work
must normally be carried out at a designated scientific procedure establishment.
Regulated procedures can only be authorized and performed if there are no scien-
tifically suitable alternatives that replaceanimal use, reducethe number of animals
needed, or refinethe procedures used to cause less suffering—these are known as
the 3Rs. In addition, the likely benefits (to humans, other animals, or the environ-
ment) must be weighed against the likely welfare costs to the animals involved. The
Act defines a “protected animal” as any living vertebrate, other than man and so,
obviously, it includes birds. In the case of bird embryos, protection extends from
halfway through the incubation period. A “regulated procedure” is defined as “any
experimental or other scientific procedure applied to a protected animal which
may have the effect of causing that animal pain, suffering, distress, or lasting
harm.” This encompasses any material disturbance to normal health (defined as
the physical, mental, and social well-being of the animal). This includes physio-
logical or psychological discomfort, whether immediately or in the longer term.
Control of regulated procedures is exercised by licensing at three levels.
Personal licenses. This is an endorsement that the holder is a suitable and suffi-
ciently competent person to carry out specified regulated procedures on specified
classes of animal as part of a program of work authorized by a project license.
Satisfactory completion of an appropriate training course is required before
a personal license is issued.
Project licenses. These must weigh the likely adverse effects on the animals
involved against the benefit (to humans, other animals, or the environment) likely
to accrue from the program of work, establish that there are no alternatives to the
use of animals, and ensure that full use will be made of reduction and refinement
strategies to minimize the number of animals used and the likely pain, suffering,
distress, or lasting harm to be caused. The program of work has to be set out and
each experimental procedure described in detail. Records of the numbers of
animals used must be kept. These are collated by the Home Office annually. [The
United Kingdom is the only country that records the numbers of birds used in
scientific experiments.] Satisfactory completion of an appropriate training course
is required before a personal license is issued.
Certificates of designation. These are issued to individuals responsible for com-
pliance with the provisions of the Act at establishments where laboratory animals
are used and for the provision of appropriate standards of accommodation and
care. The certificate holder is required to nominate one or more Named Animal
214 |Techniques in physiology and genetics