Under section 91 of the
Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 schools must obtain ethics approval for
scientific animal use activities.
According to the
Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes, animals are defined as any live non-human vertebrate (that is, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals encompassing domestic animals, purpose-bred animals, livestock, wildlife) and cephalopods.
Scientific purposes are all activities conducted with the aim of acquiring, developing or demonstrating knowledge or techniques in all areas of science, including teaching, field trials, environmental studies, research (including the creation and breeding of a new animal line where the impact on animal wellbeing is unknown or uncertain), diagnosis, product testing and the production of biological products. This also applies to standard husbandry procedures and normal farming practices if the animals are being used for explicit teaching purposes.
The
step-by-step decision making process (PDF, 660KB) will help you in planning and applying to use animals in schools for scientific purposes and to maintain your approval, once granted.