Ethical guidelines in relation to animal participants:
:pen:Based on British Psychological Society’s guidelines for Psychologists working with animals (2012)
• Replacement: Researchers should consider replacing animal experiments with videos or computer simulations.
• Species and strain: Psychologists should choose a species that is scientifically and ethically suitable for the intended use. Knowledge of the animal’s previous experience is also essential.
• Numbers: According to the Animal Scientific Procedures Act (1986), psychologists should always use the smallest number of animals that still accomplish the research aims and goals. These could be calculated via a pilot study and statistical programs.
• Procedures: Psychologists should consider research that enriches rather than harms. Procedures that may cause discomfort, injury, stress, etc. need a Project Licence which can be gained after a cost-benefit analysis
• Pain and distress: Research causing physiological or psychological pain or distress should be avoided. Whatever procedure is in use, any adverse effects on animals must be recognized and assessed, and immediate action is taken wherever necessary.
• Housing: Isolation & crowding should be avoided. Caging should recreate aspects of the natural environment that are important to the welfare of the animal and must take into account the social behaviour of the species.
• Reward, deprivation and aversive stimuli: Researcher should consider the animal’s normal eating and drinking habits and its metabolic requirements. When using deprivation and aversive stimuli, the researcher should make sure that there is no alternative way of motivating the animal that is consistent with the aims of the experiment and that the levels of deprivation is no greater than that needed to achieve the goals of the experiment.
• Anaesthesia, Analgesia & Euthanasia: Animals should be protected from pain relating to surgery and euthanized if suffering lasting pain. Procedures that are likely to cause pain and discomfort should be performed only on animals that have been adequately anaesthetised, and analgesics should be used before and after such procedures to minimise pain and distress whenever possible.
