A Reflection on the Development Within Asia of an Ethical Framework for Animals Used in Biomedical Research and a Direction for the Future

A Reflection on the Development within Asia of an Ethical Framework for Animals used in Biomedical Research and a Direction for the Future Introduction This presentation is a reflection on the changes in welfare conditions of laboratory animals in Asia in general with reference to Hong Kong (HK), China, Australia, Singapore and the Middle East, since I first visited China in 1991 and arrived in HK in 1995, to the time I left in 2013. Firstly Hong Kong and China: In China in 1988 the Regulation for the Administration of Laboratory Animal 1 was promulgated but by 1991 there were still no ethics committees. Therefore husbandry conditions and techniques were to say, at best, rudimentary 2 • • • Blood collection by “eye yank” method Rabbits in terracotta pots Monkeys in concrete “cells”

In Hong Kong there was a 1963 ordinance the Animals (Control of Experiments) Ordinance (Cap 340) but in 1995 when I arrived the ethics committees were designed more with the aim to: • • • • Avoid transparency, Protect researchers Ensure research, and Prevent scandal

There was no real interest in animal welfare, as the Cap 340 was not designed to provide for any ethical oversight or harm-benefit assessment. After all Cap 340 was based on the UK’s Cruelty to Animals Act of 1876, so concepts of ethical review and harm-benefit analysis would have been unheard of to the individuals drafting the parent UK act of 1876. In 1999, things became interesting when Christine Loh revealed in LegCo that the number of animals used in experiments and reported to the Department of Health were approximately 30% of the animals issued for research at the two big universities3. From 1999, the Department of Health was much more pro-active in ensuring compliance on reporting of animals used in experiments. A small but positive step. In 2004, with no likelihood that the Hong Kong Government was going to draft new animals in research legislation, it was decided by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation...