Ten Top Tips for Animal Ethics Application Success
10. Making the endpoint clear
The fate of all animals must be clear and rationalised throughout the application, with a specific, measurable and scientifically validated experimental endpoint. If animals are to be killed, the time points and methodology for doing so should accord with best practice, and be unambiguous and reconciled throughout the application. If there is any doubt about these issues the Animal Welfare Officer should be consulted.
Where appropriate the monitoring checklist needs to include signs/criteria for euthanasia before the end-point, dictated by indicators of ill-health, pain and distress.
High expected mortality rates will be questioned by AECs, as death by natural causes rarely occurs without suffering. Unless specific Ministerial permission has been gained, researchers must always avoid “death as an end-point” methodology, where death is the deliberate measure for evaluation and where the researcher will not intervene to kill the animal humanely.
Further resources:
- See our A-Z of animal welfare for guidance on euthanasia and endpoints