Introductory Course in Laboratory Animal Science

About the course

This specialised course is aimed at persons who perform procedures on, care for, or euthanase animals for scientific purposes including for research, testing or teaching at UCT and in Africa. The course is broadly attended by scientists who conduct and design animal studies and teaching activities, veterinary and para-veterinary professionals, and animal ethics committee members.

The main course objective is to present the basic principles that underlie the responsible and ethical care and use of animals for scientific purposes. Most of the lectures and principles are applicable across animal species. The practical sessions and some lectures focus on mice and rats.

Course Content

• Animal ethics (moral philosophy; legislation; standards; UCT policies; reduction, refinement & replacement)
• Animal welfare (welfare monitoring; humane endpoints; euthanasia; anaesthesia; analgesia; surgical principles)
• Research quality (study design; model validity; calculating sample size; statistics; limiting confounding factors)
• Biology & husbandry (behaviour; housing; enrichment; nutrition; anatomy; physiology; genetics; health status)
• Ethical review (how to complete an Animal Ethics Committee application to ensure a rapid turn-around time)
• Practical training (normal behaviour; welfare monitoring; rodent handling, restraint, injections & euthanasia)

Registration

To register, please supply the following:

1. Completed registration form
2. Copy of ID
3. Letter from your supervisor endorsing your application and confirming your work with animals

More Information

Introductory Course in Laboratory Animal Science