Ethics in animal experimentation
The ethics of animal experimentation is based on the duty of every member of the academic community to respect animals as living and sensible beings. Belgium and the FWB follow European legislation by integrating the Commission Directives. In this way, the conditions of animal welfare of experimental animals are harmonized within the European Union and adapted to technical and scientific developments.
The ethical aspects of animal experimentation are the responsibility of the CEEXPANI (commission of ethics in animal experimentation) whose composition and internal regulation have been reviewed during the academic year 2016-2017 and validated by the Service 'Bien-être animal' of the Service Public de Wallonie (SPW). All protocols relating to animal experiments must be submitted to this commission before the start of the experiments.
The mission of the Ethics Commission is to ensure the proper application of the legislation in force on animal experimentation and the optimization of the conditions of supply, housing and use of animals, both in terms of facilities and procedures implemented.
It evaluates planned and executed experiments. It establishes ethical criteria for animal experiments and advises the experimental directors and collaborators on the ethical aspects of animal experiments. The Commission also advises the supervisory authorities on the ethical aspects of animal experiments.
