European Union Legislation for the Welfare of Animals Used for Scientific Purposes: Areas Identified for Further Discussion

Simple Summary The Directive 2010/63/EU has been in force for more than a decade and has brought about significant improvements and novel requirements for the welfare of animals used for scientific purposes, while safeguarding research integrity. The Directive sets clear provisions for its scope, the authorization procedures, animal welfare bodies, national committees, cost/benefit analysis, severity classification, retrospective assessment, and statistical reporting, among many others. From this perspective, indicative areas in the existing legislative texts and guidance documents, which may influence animal welfare and scientific integrity, have been identified by the authors. Suggested solutions to address these areas by potential future revisions in the legislation are discussed, with the aim to clarify and simplify them for all actors involved. The Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council has been in force for more than a decade and has brought about significant improvements and novel requirements for the welfare of animals used for scientific purposes, while safeguarding research integrity. The Directive sets clear provisions for its scope, the authorization procedures, animal welfare bodies, national committees, cost/benefit analysis, severity classification, retrospective assessment, and statistical reporting, among many others. From this perspective, indicative areas in the existing legislative texts and guidance documents, which may influence animal welfare and scientific integrity, have been identified by the authors after years of working in this field. Suggested solutions to address these areas by potential future revisions in the legislation or other actions to benefit animal welfare are discussed, with the aim to clarify and simplify them for all stakeholders involved.

Automated summary

The Directive 2010/63/EU has been in force for more than a decade, bringing significant improvements and novel requirements for animal welfare and research integrity in scientific experiments. The Directive provides clear provisions for various aspects such as scope, authorization procedures, animal welfare bodies, national committees, cost/benefit analysis, severity classification, retrospective assessment, and statistical reporting. The authors, based on their experience working in this field, have identified indicative areas in existing legislative texts and guidance documents that may impact animal welfare and scientific integrity. They discuss suggested solutions to address these areas through potential future revisions in legislation or other actions to benefit animal welfare, aiming to clarify and simplify these issues for all stakeholders involved.