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Swedish Board of Agriculture
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Animals
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Laboratory animals
- Veterinarian and approved supervisor
Veterinarian and approved supervisor
The veterinarian's tasks
The veterinarian is to monitor animal welfare, and also give advice and guidance about the design of the actual experiments. His or her recommendations shall comprise both the physical and psychological well-being of the animals as well as other aspects of veterinary medicine. The veterinarian is also responsible for surgery, injections and similar treatments, and is to take part in both the planning of experiments and monitoring of the animals in cases where the experiments involve suffering. He or she shall also handle other veterinary treatment of the animals, if necessary.
The veterinarian is also responsible for drawing up and maintaining a plan for various aspects of animal welfare, as well as consulting with the supervisor whenever necessary. If an ethologist is involved in the project or facility, the veterinarian shall cooperate with this person as well.
The veterinarian is responsible for decisions concerning killing or reuse of animals, unless the ethical committee has already made that decision. If the animal is to live, the veterinarian or some other suitable person is responsible for monitoring it as long as it remains at the facility.
The veterinarian should preferably be placed at the facility where the experiments are carried out, or at least live or work close enough that he or she can visit every day. The veterinarian must be licensed to practice in Sweden, and have the authority necessary to fulfil his or her tasks.
The supervisor's tasks
The approved supervisor´s responsibilities include both the care and husbandry of animals as well as relevant administrative tasks.
He or she is responsible for the care, husbandry and monitoring of animals, for the functioning of equipment, and for the correct marking of both animals and cages. Another task of the supervisor is to take part in the planning of experiments.
The supervisor must ensure that records are properly kept and that statistics are reported to the Board of Agriculture every year. He or she should also provide the license-holder with suggestions about training activities for personnel.
The supervisor must be approved by the Board of Agriculture. For more information about this, please read the page Licences to the left.
Criteria for the approval of a supervisor
The supervisor must have knowledge about the activities involving laboratory animals. Exactly what knowledge is required depends on the experiments to be carried out. The supervisor must also be able to monitor and influence the activities.
When the Board of Agriculture decides whether or not to approve a supervisor, we use the following general criteria:
- The proposed supervisor should normally work at the facility. However, if the activities do not take place at a laboratory animal facility, this is not a requirement.
- The proposed supervisor must be able to quickly arrive at the facility in case anything happens that warrants his or her immediate presence.
- The proposed supervisor must have at least two years of experience in working with laboratory animals.
- The proposed supervisor and the consulting veterinarian cannot be the same individual.
For some activities, there are also special criteria.
Supervisor in medical research and development
The proposed supervisor should have a degree from one of the following first-cycle (undergraduate) programmes: doctor, dentist, veterinarian, pharmacist, biologist, (at least 160 credits in biomedicine, e.g. biochemistry / physiology / genetics / immunology / microbiology). Other courses or study programmes may be accepted if there are special reasons for this.
The proposed supervisor should also have training in legislation and the exercising of public authority, in laboratory animal biology and husbandry, methodology, alternative methods, and ethics.
Supervisor in other biological research and development
The proposed supervisor should have a degree from one of the following first-cycle (undergraduate) programmes: veterinarian, livestock agronomist, forester (in case of wildlife research), biologist (at least 160 credits of suitable subjects), ethologist (university degree in natural science, e.g. biologist, veterinarian or doctor with at least 10 extra credits and thesis (20 credits) in ethology). Other courses or study programmes may be accepted if there are special reasons for this.
The proposed supervisor should also have training in legislation and exercising public authority, laboratory animal biology and husbandry, methodology, alternative methods, and ethics.
Supervisor in other areas of activity
The proposed supervisor´s background, education and experience should be relevant for the activities proposed. Qualifications will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
