Best Practice for the Care and Use of Animals in Experimentation: A Malaysian Perspective

Abstract

Passing federal laws and national guidelines is one of the best revenues to protect animals used in experimentation. The laws can establish standards of care for animals in scientific research such as housing standards and treatment for the animals. At international level, animal ethics and law for the care and use of animal in experimentation have been widely discussed for decades ago. There are several well-known international documents and guidelines that have been referred by many countries when constructing their own federal laws governing the subject matter. They are Terrestrial Code, European Directives, and International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals. In Malaysia, the Animal Welfare Act 2015 finally has been enforced on 18^th July 2017 where the Act among others will regulate the use of animal for scientific purposes in the country. Besides, it will validate the practice of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) which was based on self-regulation before the enactment of the Act and the Act is significant of having legal enforcement in order to give better protection to the animals subjected to experimentation. Thus, the law has taken its role in enhancing the animal ethics for the care and use of animal in science in Malaysia. This paper aims to analyses the provisions of law in several international documents governing the subject matter that reflect the international practice. Then it will look into the practice of research institutions in Malaysia, applying the existing animal ethics and law in the subject matter. This paper adopts doctrinal approach considering primary and secondary sources of law. Relevant to this, Animal Welfare Act 2015 (AWA) and Malaysian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes (My Code) are analysed. Besides, it also employed empirical study by way of interviews and observation. This paper is significant to inform the practice of animal ethics at international level to be learned by Malaysia as the country is still at an early stage of having the new Act.