ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½

Current fields of research that involve animals to varying degrees at the University of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ include: 

• • Medical research: 
  • Cancer therapy (mice and rats) 
  • Neurological disease (mice and rats) 
  • Immunology (mice) 
  • Mental health disease and treatments (mice and rats) 
  • Effect of radiofrequency exposure on cognition (Rats and Mice)  
  • Motor neuron disease (mice) 

   

  • Wildlife, conservation and other research involving animals: 
  • Breeding of endangered species (frogs) 
  • Impact of habitat loss (observational studies of wildlife) 
  • Animal behaviour (fish in field studies and aquariums) 
  • Impact of marine parks on biodiversity (field studies) 
  • Effect of fire on wildlife (observational studies of wildlife) 
  • Antimicrobial resistance (seabirds) 
  • Impacts of invasive species on the endangered crayfish. 
  • Evolutionary biology – Painted Dragons 
   

Procedures that are NOT conducted at the University of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ include the testing of cosmetics on animals (in fact this is illegal in Australia), The forced swim test & forced smoke inhalation  tests which have now been banned in NSW, the Draize test (in which potentially irritant compounds are dripped into an animal’s eye – this has been illegal for over 30 years in Australia and medical research involving dogs, cats or monkeys (although very occasionally, privately owned pets may be involved with their owner’s permission in non-invasive studies designed to help improve veterinary treatments).   

Before conducting or commencing any research investigation, staff and students of the University are required to submit a research ethics application to the University of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Animal Ethics Committee and obtain approval to ensure that all statutory requirements are met.

Laboratory mice and rats are housed under conditions that ensure the health and welfare of the animals is maintained at the highest industry standards. At UoW mice and rats are housed in Ventilated HEPA filtered cages. They are provided with enrichment such as bedding material, nesting material, chew blocks, tunnels and shelters and group housed whenever possible.    

For more details about our laboratory rodent facility see Animal Facilities case studies. 

The University of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ also has an Ecological research facility which has the facilities required for short term housing of marine species, freshwater fish, lizards, frogs, small native mammals and birds. All housing conditions at the ERC must be approved by the AEC and appropriate for the species. 

Each facility is staffed by qualified Animal Care Technicians who monitor the care and welfare of the animals held in each facility and provide husbandry support. 

The University Animal Welfare Officer/Veterinarian (AWO) provides oversight of the care and use of animals at the University facilities and is available to respond to any concerns about animals held in the facilities or encountered by UOW researchers working in the field. The AWO conducts regular inspections of the facilities and along with the technical officers provides training and competency assessments for researchers working with animals. 

Like all institutions conducting research involving animals, UOW is required to submit a report to the government each year which lists the number of animals used or observed in research projects. The graphs below summarise the total number of animals used in projects over recent years. The number used in wildlife and conservation studies includes large numbers of fish, birds and other native and exotic/feral wildlife that are simply observed directly by researchers in the field and/or monitored by cameras without being trapped/handled.  Small numbers of wildlife including lizards, snakes, small mammals(eg. gliders, possums, antechinus, native rodents) birds and fish are trapped, measured and released at the capture location with some animals (mainly fish, lizards and frogs) retained in onsite field or campus laboratories for physiology/behavioural studies.

UOW Biomedical Animal Use

UOW Biomedical Animal Use in numbers

UOW Conservation and Marine Animal Use

Conservation and Marine Animal Use in numbers

* in 2022 approximately 270 000 grey headed flying foxes were also observed with binoculars. these have not been included in the table above or the graphs below.

Category of Use Conservation/Marine Research

Animal Ethics Approvals

If you are departing UOW, it is important to ensure that all research ethics protocols are appropriately finalised or transferred. The information below outlines your responsibilities and the steps required.

1. Transfer Project Leadership
   • Another suitably qualified UOW researcher must be nominated as Chief Investigator.
   • Sumit an amendment to personnel request to the AEC for approval.
2. Finalise or Close the Project
   • If the project is complete, submit a final report and confirm the welfare outcome of any animals used.
3. Animal Welfare Considerations
   • Ensure all animals are appropriately rehomed, transferred or humanely euthanised in accordance with the approved protocol and AEC guidelines.

Data Retention and Custodianship

• Ethics approvals do not transfer ownership of research data.
• All data must be handled according to your Research Data Management Plan and UOW’s Research Data Management Policy which typically requires secure storage for a minimum of 5 years (human) or 7 years (animal) from completion.
• Departing researchers must liaise with the School/Faculty to confirm who will retain custodianship of research data and ensure it remains accessible for audits or follow-up.

Supervision of HDR Students

If you supervise HDR students conducting ethics-approved research:

• Arrange for alternative supervision prior to departure.
• Ethics records must be updated to reflect any change in supervisory roles.

All research proposals at UOW must address the 3Rs in both the initial application to the AEC and yearly in the annual progress report.

The 3Rs (Replacement with non animal models, Reduction in the number of animals used without increasing the harm to an individual animal, and Refinement of procedures to decrease the impact on animals.)  For more information about the 3Rs please visit  and The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in .

UOW is committed to supporting the 3Rs.  In 2018, 2019  and 2022, small grants were made available for researchers looking at methods to refine currently used animal models of human disease. Funding has also allowed us to purchase inanimate models of rats and mice for use in our laboratory animal training program. 

We also encourage our researchers to share surplus tissues or carcasses for use in training and teaching programs. 

In 2023 the NSW Government announced the and we look forward to the advances this network makes in reduction and replacement of animal testing in medical research.  UOW is a partner institution for the Nat-Net with being the key contact at UOW. 

 RDI contacts:

Rochelle Waren (Animal Ethics Officer) uow-animalethics@uow.edu.au

Sarah Toole (Animal Welfare Officer) sarah_toole@uow.edu.au   

University of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ - Animal Ethics Committee

Annual Report to the Institution for 2024

In accordance with clause 2.1.10[i] of the Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes (the Code), the Summary of the AEC’s report to the institution is presented.

This report has been approved by the full Animal Ethics Committee (AEC) following review at its meeting on 20 March 2025.

• The largest proportion of projects underway or concluding in 2024 was in human or animal biology, health or welfare; there were no studies directed towards production of biological products, diagnostic procedures or regulatory product testing.
• 16% of currently approved projects have authority to conduct research considered ‘high impact”.
• The roster of trained casual staff to provide routine checking of animals on weekends and public holidays has continued to operate successfully throughout 2024.
• UOW submitted its first report to ANZCART as a signatory to the .
• As has been the case for several years, the AEC neither received nor approved applications to conduct projects involving ‘death as an endpoint’ as defined in the DPI procedure categories.
• UOW continues to demonstrate a progressive position in relation to industry trends and initiatives such as rehoming of animals, use of inanimate training materials, public openness in its animal research activities and requiring research involving decapod crustaceans (crayfish, lobsters etc) to be subject to the Australian animal research code. Refinements to reduce the animal welfare impact of invasive procedures and in vitro testing of hypotheses before moving to in vivo animal trials are also well-established at UOW.
• The UOW AEC continues to benefit from including specialists in philosophy and statistics in its membership – a feature that is uncommon among AECs. The independence of the AEC is strengthened by the fact that on average, nearly two thirds of the members participating in each meeting during 2024 were external to the institution.
• While the AEC fully acknowledges the exceptional challenges currently faced by the University, it has recently developed concerns over the level of resourcing in some areas of the institution’s animal research program. If not resolved, these could result in the AEC being unable to approve certain projects due to the risk of non-compliance. 

Previous years' summaries