Use of Animals in Research Policy

1. Purpose

SEA DREAM supports and funds research that uses animals if it is legal, ethical and scientifically justified. Almost every major breakthrough in human and veterinary medicine has depended on the use of animals to research, develop or test new therapies. At this time, research involving animals remains an essential tool to increase our understanding of how human and animal bodies work, and how diseases can be prevented or treated. This policy is intended to provide researchers and organisations we fund with the guidelines on how to design, conduct and monitor the research using animals in an ethical and responsible manner.

2. Scope and definitions

According to the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 of UK, SEA DREAM defines protected animals used in research as:

• non-human vertebrates
• live cephalopods
• independently feeding larval forms
• foetal forms of mammals in the last third of their gestation or incubation period

2.1. The 3Rs standards

The 3Rs is a framework established for performing more humane animal research. The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) defines the 3Rs as follows:

• Replacement – accelerating the development and use of models and tools, based on the latest science and technologies, to address important scientific questions without the use of animals.
• Reduction – appropriately designed and analysed animal experiments that are robust and reproducible, and truly add to the knowledge base.
• Refinement – advancing research into animal welfare by exploiting the latest in vivo technologies and by improving understanding of the impact of welfare on scientific outcomes.

3. What we expect from the researchers and organisations

Research funded by SEA DREAM must:

• at a minimum, follow the Good Practice Guidelines of the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) with the expectation that research conducted outside of the UK should be carried out to welfare standards consistent with those in the UK
• comply with all local legislation and ethical review procedures
• meet the 3Rs standards

In addition, organisations must ensure that all personnel involved in animal research — including researchers, research assistants and support staff — receive appropriate training in research ethics and animal care protocols.

3.1. Grant application

Applicants must meet the 3Rs standards if they plan to:

• carry out any new experiments using animals or animal tissue
• analyse pre-existing data collected on research using animals – applicants should explain how the data was collected in accordance with the 3Rs

Applicants must include details about how they have considered replacing, reducing and refining the use of animals in their research. This should be done from the earliest stages of research design. Applicants must:

• explain why there is no alternative to using animals in the research
• justify the number of animals they will use
• state that the severity level for all procedures is the lowest possible

3.2. Sub-awarded grants or outsourcing

If a SEA DREAM grant is sub-awarded to another organisation that will carry out animal research as part of the project, that organisation must put processes in place to make sure that they comply with this policy.

This must include:

• making sure that all animal work is appropriately assessed and monitored by people with the relevant experience
• seeking NC3Rs review if the work involves non-human primates, cats, dogs or equidae
• complying with local regulations and obtaining ethical approvals

However, organisations don't need to have these approvals before they submit their grant application to SEA DREAM, but they must have them in place before they start their project. SEA DREAM will request sharing these approvals.

3.3. Reporting of animal-based studies

3.4. Special conditions

If the research intends to use macaques, grantees must get them from the legally permitted breeding facilities. On top of that, the administering organization must clearly mention it in the proposal, and it is subject to requiring upstream approval from the main funder(s). 

Researchers must use female and male sexes in their research, including for tissues, cells and cell lines where appropriate. Single-sex studies may be considered where strongly justified. 

4. NC3Rs peer review

The NC3Rs is a UK-based scientific organisation that works nationally and internationally with the research community to replace, refine and reduce the use of animals in research and testing. SEA DREAM will send grant applications to the NC3Rs for independent review if the research involves:

• cats 
• dogs
• equidae:  a biological family of living equids which belongs to the single genus “Equus” that includes horses, donkeys and zebras
• non-human primates: other members of the primate order, other than humans, that includes a family of monkeys and apes (e.g., macaques, baboons, chimpanzees, marmosets, capuchins)
• large numbers of any type of animal

This is in addition to the expert peer review as part of the grant application process. NC3Rs may ask questions or request clarifications that the applicants are required to respond to before it provides final recommendations to the SEA DREAM proposal evaluation committee. The SEA DREAM proposal evaluation committee will consider the NC3Rs’ review when they assess and rate the grant applications. If we award a grant, funding may be conditional on the applicant addressing any concerns raised by NC3Rs.

5. When researchers must contact us

Grantees must tell us if their use of animals changes during their grant. For example, if the number of animals they use is significantly higher than the number we funded. This is a requirement of our Grant Conditions. We may also ask for more information if there is a significant overspend on animal costs.

Grantees must contact SEA DREAM immediately if:

• there are any doubts about their research meeting the appropriate regulatory requirements
• their research uses non-human primates and issues arise that affect the experiments (for example, problems recruiting, training or retaining staff whose roles are critical to animal welfare)