In a special announcement Sri Lanka Association for Laboratory Animal Science (SLALAS) calls for Public consultation on the draft Guidelines for the care and use of animals in laboratory-based research.
Sri Lanka Association for Laboratory Animal Science (SLALAS) is the apex organization dedicated to Laboratory Animal Science in Sri Lanka. The association is committed to promote animal welfare and the ethical use of laboratory animals with the application of the “3R concept’ (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement) in Laboratory Animal Science.
Animals are being used for various Biomedical research and the results of these experiments have led to many advances in science and medicine. However, the use of laboratory animals has been always debated due to the concerns related to the welfare of these animals.
In 2018, the Fifth Annual Scientific Sessions of the Sri Lanka Association for Laboratory Animal Science (SLALAS), identified the necessity for a comprehensive set of guidelines for conducting research using animals. Afterwards, the Working Committee on Bioethics of the National Science Foundation requested SLALAS to prepare consensus guidelines for the use of animals in research. As a result, in 2019 at the Sixth Annual Scientific Sessions of SLALAS the first draft of this document was discussed. Then this was revised and finalised through discussions at subsequent meetings.
The resulting document, the ‘Guidelines for the Care and Use of Animals in Laboratory-based Research in Sri Lanka’, details the responsibilities of the research team, the Animal Ethics Review Committees (AERC) and the institutions. These guidelines are expected to ensure the humane use of animals in Sri Lanka for the advancement of science through high-quality research.
This publication provides information related to the humane, responsible and ethical use of animals in research. These guidelines are anticipated to provide guidance to conduct high-quality research with ensuing animal wellbeing.
The draft publication has been developed by an expert working group of specialists in Laboratory Animal Scienceand is accompanied by Application forms used for ethical approval.
SLALAS invites all interested stakeholders to respond to the call for comments individually or as an organization that may become usefeul in finalizing publication.
Instructions for Providing Comments
- If you are providing comments on behalf of an organization, include the organization’s name and your contact information
- If you are commenting as an individual, submit identifying or contact information
- Please indicate which measure(s) you are commenting on
- You may submit general comments on the entire set of measures or you may provide comments specific to individual measures
- All comments related to the draft SLALAS GUIDELINES FOR THE CARE AND USE OF ANIMALS IN LABORATORY-BASED RESEARCH shall be submitted through the SLALAS website https://slalas.lk/slalas-guidelines/
- Please note that comments will not be considered if they:
- are submitted after the closing date of the consultation;
- are not related to the contents of the document.
