Animal welfare award for University of Auckland

A collaboration of University of Auckland departments has been recognised for its contribution to reducing and refining the way animals are used for scientific research. The group received the 2013 National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee (NAEAC) Three Rs award, sponsored by the Royal New Zealand SPCA, at a function held last night.

The national award is made annually to an individual, group or institution within New Zealand that epitomises best practice with regard to the concept of the Three Rs: “To replace live animal subjects, reduce the number of animals used and refine experimental techniques to minimise pain and distress,” explained NAEAC chairperson Dr Virginia Williams.

The Circulatory Control Laboratory from the Department of Physiology and the Auckland Bioengineering Institute’s Implantable Devices Group won the award for their development and validation of a number of wireless physiological monitoring tools. Dr Williams said the team’s work demonstrates two of the Three Rs, as their technology “enables refinements through reduced need for handling the animals, and reductions in animal usage worldwide. Use of animals in science is only acceptable if all efforts are made to minimise harm or suffering.”

The team’s telemetry devices allow remote and continuous monitoring of signals such as blood pressure and heart activity. In addition to use in the team’s own research work, the technology has been commercialised through Millar Instruments, exported to over 30 countries and is now used in some of the world’s major pharmaceutical companies.

Source