Animal Ethics in New Zealand Research – Comprehensive Study Notes

Context & Speaker

• Talk delivered via Zoom to psychology students preparing “Project 1” (focus: human–animal behavioural parallels).

• Presenter: Dr Jody Selinsky

  • University of Auckland (UoA) — Animal Welfare Officer & University Veterinarian (≈ “Attending Veterinarian” in the USA).

  • Oversees every aspect of animal care & use across the institution; on call $24/7/365$.

  • Also communicates animal‐ethics issues publicly and encourages critical questioning (“privilege, not right”).

• NZ-specific focus, but many principles universal.

Legislative Framework in New Zealand

• Animal Welfare Act 1999 (AWA) + amendments (e.g.2015).

  • Part 6 is a self-contained sub-statute for Research, Testing & Teaching (RTT).

  • Other parts of the Act still apply unless explicitly overridden.

• National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee (NAEAC; often pronounced “NI-AC”)

  • Statutory body; advises government; issues “Good Practice Guide” updates.

  • Acts as bridge between legislation, regulators (e.g.MPI) & the public.

• Code of Ethical Conduct (CEC)

  • Binding contract between each organisation & the Crown.

  • Must exist before an Animal Ethics Committee (AEC) can be formed.

  • Re-written from scratch every $5$ years; audited.

• Related ministries/agencies:

  • Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) — compliance & enforcement arm.

  • Regional councils may nominate lay members.

Definition of “Animal” Under AWA §2

• Automatically covered if it is a living:

  • Mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian.

  • Fish (bony and cartilaginous – $\text{sharks},\;\text{skates},\;\text{rays}$).

  • Cephalopods: octopus & squid.

  • Decapod crustaceans: crab, lobster, crayfish.

  • “Any other species” that may later be gazetted by Governor-General.

• Developmental stages covered:

  • Mammalian fetus, avian/reptilian embryo after the midpoint of gestation/hatching.

  • Marsupial pouch young (all stages).

  • Example: chicken egg \text{Day 1–10}<50\% gestation ⇒ not an “animal”; $\text{Day 11–21}$ ⇒ “animal”.

  • Example: mouse gestation $\approx 28\text{ d}$.

    • Manipulation before \text{Day}<14 counts as one animal (the dam).

    • After >14 counts as dam + each fetus.

• Large group not protected (yet): invertebrates such as flies, bees, prawns, mussels, etc.

• Act recognises sentience but leaves the definition open; default assumption: animals experience at least comparable pain/distress to humans unless proven otherwise.

Ethical Oversight Structure (NZ Model)

• Tiered “Onion”

  1. Animal Welfare Act 1999 (statute).

  2. NAEAC guidance & codes.

  3. Code of Ethical Conduct (institution).

  4. Animal Ethics Committee approval.

  5. Individual researchers & specific protocols.

Animal Ethics Committee (AEC)

• Minimum statutory membership (AWA §101):

  • Chair (experienced in RTT).

  • Lay member (territorial/regional council nominee; non-scientist).

  • Veterinarian (NZVA nominee; independent).

  • Animal-welfare representative (SPCA nominee).

• UoA optional additions:

  • Deans (Science & FMHS) or nominees.

  • Animal-facility manager (hands-on insight).

  • Two researchers FMHS, one from Science.

  • Dr Selinsky (Animal Welfare Officer).

  • Secretariat (administration).

• Consensus decision-making — no voting blocks; every member must be satisfied.

  • Typical outcomes:

  • Fully approved (rare).

  • Declined outright (rare due to pre-screening).

  • “Conditional / Not approved in current form” (common; multiple pages of queries).

• Evaluation criteria (AWA §100):

  1. Scientific/educational merit & experimental design.

  2. Anticipated harms vs benefits; mitigation strategies.

  3. Re-use of animals & cumulative burden.

  4. Species, strain & number (power analyses, $n$).

  5. Health & welfare pre-/during/post-manipulation.

  6. Staff competence & training.

  7. Avoidance of unnecessary duplication; commitment to publish/share data.

  8. Any other relevant matters.

The Three Rs Framework

• Reduction – use the minimum $n$ to obtain statistically valid results; foster tissue-sharing & crossover designs.

• Refinement – improve procedures/environments to reduce pain, stress, or fear; increase positive welfare experiences.

• Replacement – substitute non-sentient models (cell lines, organoids, in-silico, lower-order species) where scientifically reasonable.

  • Limitation: cannot replace research on phenomena we do not yet understand (“no user manual for biology”).

• Key repositories:

  • NC3Rs (UK), Noracopa (Norway), NA 3Rs Collaborative (USA).

Approval Requirements & Field Examples

• Any “manipulation” of a covered animal for RTT needs AEC approval.

  • “Manipulation” legally defined (live links provided in slides).

  • Field work: simple observation at a distance ≠ manipulation.

  • Bird-hide counting godwits → no approval.

  • Walking toward birds to establish flight-distance → approval required.

  • Zoo visitor area observations → no approval; behind-the-scenes out-of-hours work → approval.

Additional NZ Regulations

• Cosmetics testing (finished products or ingredients solely for cosmetic use) – banned nationwide. Importation of overseas-tested products still allowed.

• Psychoactive substances testing for over-the-counter “legal highs” – prohibited after synthetic-cannabis incidents.

Openness & Public Communication

• UoA signatory to 2021 Australia–New Zealand Openness Agreement (ANSCRT).

  • Commitments: plain-language public web info, lab tours, media engagement, student transparency.

• Ethical challenge: stopping animal research prematurely could delay or prevent life-saving advances (diabetes, heart devices, etc.).

Welfare, Science & Human Factors

• Good animal welfare ⇔ good science (stress alters immunity, tumour growth, pharmacokinetics).

  • ARRIVE guidelines emphasise this connection.

• Staff wellbeing: injections, surgeries, euthanasia can cause emotional strain; 24/7 vet support available.

• Humane Endpoints > “death as endpoint” ⇒ never acceptable; pre-defined clinical score sheets; weight-loss %, behaviour changes, etc.

Refinement Techniques & Training

• Positive-reinforcement & habituation:

  • Voluntary blood sampling in mice using tunnels or tail-docking stations.

  • Oral micro-dosing for glucose-tolerance tests.

  • Pigs, rats, zebrafish trained for cooperative procedures.

• Refined handling: cup-or-tunnel pick-ups instead of tail-lifting in mice (reduced anxiety).

• “Rat tickling,” environmental enrichment, nesting materials.

• Resources: RISE (Sweden) for training videos; NC3Rs “Grimace Scales” for pain detection.

Emerging Species Considerations

• EU has recently added decapod crustaceans (shrimps, prawns) to sentient-animal lists.

• NZ NAEAC signalling similar review; bees likely next candidate insect.

• Ethically: AWA treats all covered taxa equally—no differential duty based on perceived intelligence.

Case Studies & Current Research at UoA

• Wildlife & Conservation

  • Whale genetics & blubber‐biopsy health (Dr Emma Carroll).

  • Seabird reproduction & disease surveillance.

• Behavioural Neuroscience

  • Pigeons pecking touch-screens for cognitive research.

• Human Health Translational Models

  • Pacific & Māori diabetes studies (rodent models).

  • Adaptive pacemaker mimicking physiological sinus arrhythmia.

  • Implantable hydrocephalus pressure sensor saving thousands worldwide.

• Field teaching examples: godwit migration, wading-bird census, wallaby/possum pest control ethics.

Speaker’s Own Research Highlights

• Marine Mammals – stress physiology in seals & sea lions; capture protest vs long-term welfare (objective cortisol, lactate measures).

• Sheep Fetal‐Physiology Pain Study – pilot on novel analgesic; aims to refine global obstetric research protocols.

• Strong advocate for integrating behaviour, endocrinology & welfare scoring.

Key Take-Away Questions & Ethical Dilemmas

• Should welfare standards scale with perceived sentience? NZ says no—equal duty of care.

• If RTT ceased tomorrow, how many lives would be lost/delayed by halted progress? Ethical trade-off.

• Could involuntary human subjects replace animals? Legal, moral and scientific barriers.

• Continuous journey: countries & institutions lie on a spectrum; collaboration > condemnation.

Useful Resources & Further Reading

• Statutory & advisory

  • $www.legislation.govt.nz$ – Animal Welfare Act 1999 (Part 6).

  • MPI Animal Welfare, NAEAC Good Practice Guide.

• 3Rs & Refinement

  • NC3Rs (UK), Noracopa (NO), NA3Rs Collab (USA), RISE (Sweden).

  • “Grimace‐Scale” papers; ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines.

• Public-facing sites

  • Understanding Animal Research (UK & Oceania editions).

  • Speaking of Research (global).

  • Americans for Medical Progress.

  • ANSCRT openness agreement information page.

Remember: use of animals is a privilege that hinges on robust science, transparent ethics, and continual refinement.