This note aims to highlight the problem and identify ways to ensure animal welfare concerns are addressed prior to a study being undertaken. Animal welfare legislation is designed to minimise the impact of invasive practices on animals. For example, in South Africa, this is regulated by a number of Acts - primarily the Animals Protection Act (Act No. 71 of 1962) and the Performing Animals Protection Act (Act No. 24 of 1935). A third Act, the Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (Act No. 169 of 1993) governs the organization and management of animal welfare associations. For the use of animals in research, ' the South African National Standard for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purpose (SANS 10386:2008), which is outlined in the Standards Act, No. 8 2008, sets the national standard for The care and use of animals for scientific purposes'. Furthermore, for certain Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS), the TOPS regulations in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (Act 10 of 2004) need to be adhered to if any listed species are captured. The usual procedure when using wild animals for research is to apply for the relevant ethics clearance through the institute that hosts the research and also to get the relevant permits through the relevant governmental bodies. In South Africa, the act of chemically immobilizing and/or anaesthetizing an animal is regarded as restricted to veterinary professionals, which is legislated in the Veterinary and Paraveterinary Professions Act (Act No. 19 of 1982) and is restricted to recognized veterinarians (under the Act) that are registered with the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC). In addition, immobilization and anaesthesia are usually induced using drugs regulated as Schedule 5 or Schedule 6 substances. The acquisition and possession of such substances are regulated by the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act (Act No. 101 of 1965). This Act specifies by whom such drugs may be dispensed, acquired and possessed (e.g. by medical practitioners, dentists, and veterinarians), and also stipulates that the identified professional may only prescribe such Schedule 5 and 6 substances for the purposes for which they are qualified. Only a veterinarian may prescribe such substances for use in animals. However, rule 10(1 ) a of the SAVC professional rules for veterinarians stipulates that the veterinary professional that prescribes the administering of a restricted substance must '... satisfy himself [sic] that the administering thereof is justified with due allowance for the benefits and risks which that medicine may hold for: (a) the animal to which it is administered;...'. This statement is typically not met for the capture of wild animals unless the veterinary professional is physically present at the location of the capture. Therefore, a veterinarian may apply for a qualified person to get a discretionary authorization from the SAVC to chemically immobilize or anaesthetize animals without him or her being physically present. Such authorizations are given under. Section 23(1 )(c) of Act No. 19 of 1982, and typically infers that immobilization/anaesthetic events must be carried out under the 'direction and control of the applying veterinarian'. Neither Act No. 19 of 1982, Act No. 101 of 1965 nor the SAVC professional rules are explicit on the issue of Animal Ethics, with the exception of SAVC Rule 2(a): 'research and academic projects', for which it is stipulated that '... a copy of the application to, and the approval of, the relevant Ethics committee...' is provided. Therefore, any capture with subsequent immobilization or anaesthesia can legally be undertaken without formal Animal Ethics approval if there is no research or academic outcome. Both Act No. 101 of 1965 and Rule 10 of the SA Veterinary Council requires that a qualified veterinarian has to prescribe drugs for immobilizing and/or anaesthetizing animals, whether these drugs are administered by the veterinarian or not. Therefore, the onus of the ethical approval appears to rest on the specific veterinarian that is responsible for the use of drugs to fit radio-transmitters to animals for purposes other than research. Yet research is still being undertaken on animals that originally were radio collared for other purposes. We recognize that other countries have different legislation pertaining to animal welfare and researchers from outside South Africa should adhere to the law of the land. We are not deriding the researchers who analyse and publish the information derived from such practices because this is probably the most ethical option - utilising and broadcasting information derived from animals that have gone through the trauma of capture, sedation, handling and wearing a transmitter. Yet, the organizations that perform these operations on wildlife should adhere to animal welfare and conservation permitting legislation and part of this, surely, must (although not included in the regulations), include publishing the results. Consequently, we urge ecotourism operators that seek to fit animals with tracking collars to ensure they have an affiliation with a research organization that obtains animal ethics approvals and that the ecotourism venture supports research on the animals and ensures that the information is published in the scientific literature. This could apply to animals collared for management purposes, such as monitoring lions, which may pose a threat to people and livestock if they leave a reserve, or to animals being monitored after translocation or reintroduction. Either way, this should be considered research. There are also research institutions that lack animal ethics bodies (e.g. University of Swaziland). Non-government conservation organizations that regularly perform research and management may also lack such bodies. Researchers from these organizations routinely publish papers without animal ethics approvals by simply stating that the procedures they used have been accepted by animal ethics boards elsewhere, follow accepted practices (Sikes & Gannon 2011) or, in the case of conservation organizations, are based on routine management procedures. A better solution would be to establish a relationship between institutions that follow the SANS 10386:2008 or implement the system themselves so as to allow animal ethics standards for research. If the data are used for science post management, the relevant permits should be provided and an ethics clearance applied for post-hoc.
This note aims to highlight the problem and identify ways to ensure animal welfare concerns are addressed prior to a study being undertaken. Animal welfare legislation is designed to minimise the impact of invasive practices on animals. For example, in South Africa, this is regulated by a number of Acts - primarily the Animals Protection Act (Act No. 71 of 1962) and the Performing Animals Protection Act (Act No. 24 of 1935). A third Act, the Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (Act No. 169 of 1993) governs the organization and management of animal welfare associations. For the use of animals in research, ' the South African National Standard for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purpose (SANS 10386:2008), which is outlined in the Standards Act, No. 8 2008, sets the national standard for The care and use of animals for scientific purposes'. Furthermore, for certain Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS), the TOPS regulations in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (Act 10 of 2004) need to be adhered to if any listed species are captured. The usual procedure when using wild animals for research is to apply for the relevant ethics clearance through the institute that hosts the research and also to get the relevant permits through the relevant governmental bodies. In South Africa, the act of chemically immobilizing and/or anaesthetizing an animal is regarded as restricted to veterinary professionals, which is legislated in the Veterinary and Paraveterinary Professions Act (Act No. 19 of 1982) and is restricted to recognized veterinarians (under the Act) that are registered with the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC). In addition, immobilization and anaesthesia are usually induced using drugs regulated as Schedule 5 or Schedule 6 substances. The acquisition and possession of such substances are regulated by the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act (Act No. 101 of 1965). This Act specifies by whom such drugs may be dispensed, acquired and possessed (e.g. by medical practitioners, dentists, and veterinarians), and also stipulates that the identified professional may only prescribe such Schedule 5 and 6 substances for the purposes for which they are qualified. Only a veterinarian may prescribe such substances for use in animals. However, rule 10(1 ) a of the SAVC professional rules for veterinarians stipulates that the veterinary professional that prescribes the administering of a restricted substance must '... satisfy himself [sic] that the administering thereof is justified with due allowance for the benefits and risks which that medicine may hold for: (a) the animal to which it is administered;...'. This statement is typically not met for the capture of wild animals unless the veterinary professional is physically present at the location of the capture. Therefore, a veterinarian may apply for a qualified person to get a discretionary authorization from the SAVC to chemically immobilize or anaesthetize animals without him or her being physically present. Such authorizations are given under. Section 23(1 )(c) of Act No. 19 of 1982, and typically infers that immobilization/anaesthetic events must be carried out under the 'direction and control of the applying veterinarian'. Neither Act No. 19 of 1982, Act No. 101 of 1965 nor the SAVC professional rules are explicit on the issue of Animal Ethics, with the exception of SAVC Rule 2(a): 'research and academic projects', for which it is stipulated that '... a copy of the application to, and the approval of, the relevant Ethics committee...' is provided. Therefore, any capture with subsequent immobilization or anaesthesia can legally be undertaken without formal Animal Ethics approval if there is no research or academic outcome. Both Act No. 101 of 1965 and Rule 10 of the SA Veterinary Council requires that a qualified veterinarian has to prescribe drugs for immobilizing and/or anaesthetizing animals, whether these drugs are administered by the veterinarian or not. Therefore, the onus of the ethical approval appears to rest on the specific veterinarian that is responsible for the use of drugs to fit radio-transmitters to animals for purposes other than research. Yet research is still being undertaken on animals that originally were radio collared for other purposes. We recognize that other countries have different legislation pertaining to animal welfare and researchers from outside South Africa should adhere to the law of the land. We are not deriding the researchers who analyse and publish the information derived from such practices because this is probably the most ethical option - utilising and broadcasting information derived from animals that have gone through the trauma of capture, sedation, handling and wearing a transmitter. Yet, the organizations that perform these operations on wildlife should adhere to animal welfare and conservation permitting legislation and part of this, surely, must (although not included in the regulations), include publishing the results. Consequently, we urge ecotourism operators that seek to fit animals with tracking collars to ensure they have an affiliation with a research organization that obtains animal ethics approvals and that the ecotourism venture supports research on the animals and ensures that the information is published in the scientific literature. This could apply to animals collared for management purposes, such as monitoring lions, which may pose a threat to people and livestock if they leave a reserve, or to animals being monitored after translocation or reintroduction. Either way, this should be considered research. There are also research institutions that lack animal ethics bodies (e.g. University of Swaziland). Non-government conservation organizations that regularly perform research and management may also lack such bodies. Researchers from these organizations routinely publish papers without animal ethics approvals by simply stating that the procedures they used have been accepted by animal ethics boards elsewhere, follow accepted practices (Sikes & Gannon 2011) or, in the case of conservation organizations, are based on routine management procedures. A better solution would be to establish a relationship between institutions that follow the SANS 10386:2008 or implement the system themselves so as to allow animal ethics standards for research. If the data are used for science post management, the relevant permits should be provided and an ethics clearance applied for post-hoc.
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