Animals (Control of Experiments) Act


2008 Revised Edition

CAP. 44.05






ANIMALS (CONTROL OF EXPERIMENTS)
ACT

Animals (Control of Experiments) Act CAP. 44.05 Arrangement of Sections





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ANIMALS (CONTROL OF EXPERIMENTS) ACT

Arrangement of Sections
Section
1 Short title................................................................................................................ 5
2 Interpretation.......................................................................................................... 5
3 Experiments only to be performed by licensed persons ........................................ 5
4 Experiments not to be performed for purposes of attaining manual skill .............. 5
5 Prohibition of performance of experiments for illustration of lectures

subject to certain conditions................................................................................... 6
6 Restrictions upon performances of experiments by licence................................... 6
7 Grant of licence...................................................................................................... 6
8 Permits ................................................................................................................... 7
9 Special permits....................................................................................................... 7
10 Records and inspections......................................................................................... 7
11 Returns ................................................................................................................... 8
12 Regulations ............................................................................................................ 8
13 Revocation of licence or permit ............................................................................. 8
14 Penalty ................................................................................................................... 8
15 Restriction on prosecution of licensee ................................................................... 8

Supporting Documents

ENDNOTES 9

Animals (Control of Experiments) Act CAP. 44.05 Section 1





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ANIMALS (CONTROL OF EXPERIMENTS) ACT

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONTROL OF EXPERIMENTS ON
ANIMALS AND FOR PURPOSES INCIDENTAL THERETO AND

CONNECTED THEREWITH1

Commencement [11th September 1957]

1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the Animals (Control of Experiments) Act.

2 Interpretation
In this Act —

“animal” means a living vertebrate animal;

“experiment” means any experiment performed on an animal and calculated
to give pain;

“licensee” means a person licensed under section 7.

3 Experiments only to be performed by licensed persons
(1) No person except a licensee shall perform any experiment.

(2) No licensee shall perform any experiment except in accordance with the terms
of his licence and subject to the restrictions imposed by this Act.

4 Experiments not to be performed for purposes of attaining manual skill
No licensee shall perform any experiment for the purpose of attaining manual skill.

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5 Prohibition of performance of experiments for illustration of lectures
subject to certain conditions
No licensee shall perform any experiment for the purpose of illustrating any lecture
at any university, university college, hospital, medical school, agricultural college,
farm school or any other academic institution unless he is the holder of a teaching
permit under this Act, and unless the experiment is of a class specified in such
permit and is performed in accordance with the terms of such permit.

6 Restrictions upon performances of experiments by licence
(1) Except as otherwise provided in section 5, no licensee shall perform any

experiment except —
(a) for the purpose of the advancement by new discovery of physiological

knowledge, or of any knowledge which “will be useful for saving or
prolonging life, or alleviating suffering, or for combating any disease
whether of human beings, animals or plants;

(b) for the purpose of testing any former discovery alleged to have been
made for the advancement of the types of knowledge referred to in
paragraph (a);

(c) if it is essential for the purpose of justice in a criminal case to make
such experiment.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3), no licensee shall perform any
experiment unless —
(a) throughout the whole of the experiment the animal is under the

influence of some anaesthetic of sufficient power to prevent the animal
feeling pain; and

(b) if the pain is likely to continue after the effect of the anaesthetic has
ceased, or if any serious injury has been inflicted on the animal, the
animal is killed before it recovers from the influence of the anaesthetic
which has been administered.

(3) The provisions of subsection (2) shall not apply to any licensee who is the
holder of a special permit granted under section 9 in relation to any
experiment specified in such special permit.

7 Grant of licence
(1) The Minister may grant a licence to any person to perform any experiment for

any purpose specified in such licence during such period and subject to such
conditions in addition to the conditions specified in this Act as he may think
fit.

Animals (Control of Experiments) Act CAP. 44.05 Section 8





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(2) It shall be a condition of any licence granted under subsection (1), that any
experiment performed pursuant to such licence shall be performed at such
place as may be specified in such licence.

8 Permits
(1) Where the Minister is satisfied that it is absolutely necessary for the due

instruction of persons attending any course of lectures for the purpose of
acquiring physiological knowledge or any knowledge which will be used for
saving or prolonging life, or alleviating suffering, or for combating any
disease whether of human beings, animals or plants, for any such lecture to be
illustrated by the performance of any experiment, the Minister may grant to a
licensee under this Act a teaching permit to perform any experiment specified
in such licence for the purpose of illustrating such lecture.

(2) Every teaching permit under this section shall be subject to such conditions in
addition to any conditions specified in this Act as may be specified in such
permit, and such permit shall remain in force for 12 months from the date on
which it is granted.

9 Special permits
(1) Where the Minister is satisfied that the object of any experiment permitted to

be performed by a licensee under this Act would necessarily be frustrated —
(a) by the performance of such experiment under any anaesthetic; or
(b) by killing the animal on which such experiment is performed before it

recovers from the influence of any anaesthetic, he may grant a special
permit authorising the licensee to perform such experiment without
administering any anaesthetic to the animal or without killing the
animal before it recovers from the influence of such anaesthetic as the
case may be.

(2) Any special permit under this section shall specify the period for which it
shall remain in force.

10 Records and inspections
(1) Every licensee shall keep, in such form as may be prescribed, records of all

painful experiments performed by him.

(2) Every licensee shall permit any person authorised in writing by the Minister
to inspect any records kept by him at any time between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on
any day other than a Sunday or public holiday.

(3) Every licensee shall permit any person authorised in writing as aforesaid to
enter and inspect, for the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions

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of this Act, any place specified in such licensee's licence for performance of
the experiments.

11 Returns
Every licensee shall render to the Minister in such form and at such time as may be
prescribed such returns as may be required in relation to any experiments performed
by him.

12 Regulations
(1) The Minister may make regulations generally for the better carrying out of the

provisions of this Act.

(2) Regulations made under this section may without prejudice to the generality
of the power conferred by subsection (1) provide for the keeping of records of
all experiments performed by any licensee under this Act and for the
rendering of returns in relation to any experiments performed under this Act.

13 Revocation of licence or permit
It shall be a condition of every licence or permit granted under this Act that such
licence or permit may be revoked at any time by the person granting it on his being
satisfied that such licence or permit ought to be revoked.

14 Penalty
Every person who acts in contravention of or fails to comply with any of the
provisions of this Act or of any conditions of any licence or permit granted under
this Act shall be liable to a fine of $100 and to imprisonment for 6 months.

15 Restriction on prosecution of licensee
A prosecution under this Act against a licensee shall not be instituted except by or
with the consent of the Attorney-General.



Animals (Control of Experiments) Act CAP. 44.05 ENDNOTES





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ENDNOTES


1 1990 Revised Edition, Cap. 48 – Acts 15 of 1957, 8 of 1968, 8 of 1971, LN 16/1974