Install camera in Animal Houses for Real time monitoring: CPCSEA

Pashu Sandesh, 12th February 2019

Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA), an Animal Welfare Division under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change GOI, has issued a New guideline for All the facilities which are registered with CPCSEA and conducting Animal Experiments. The Guideline calls for a stricter monitoring off the Animal House facility to ensure Welfare of the Animals.

In the letter issued on 1st Feb 2019, CPCSEA issued the following Guidelines (salient points)

1. Install CCTV cameras in the Animal House Facility and provide the CCTV recordings at the time of inspection by the nominee/representative of the CPCSEA.
2. Convene the regular meeting of the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC) once in every three months to ensure proper scrutiny of the research protocols and health status of Laboratory Animals. The meetings should be attended by the nominee of the CPCSEA as a mandatory norm. 
3. All the CPCSEA registered Animal House Facilities should employ full time Veterinary Doctors to provide 24x7 care of the Laboratory Animals. 
4. Regular Medical Checkups for the Lab Attendants for the Zoonotic disease should be done regularly and a record has to be kept for the same

Pashu Sandesh has sought some clarification on the matter of CCTV monitoring from the CPCSEA on the practicality of the implementation of the order and it has been clarified that the monitoring of the facility has to be done by CCTV and the footage of the Animal Handling during the experiment should be provided to the CPCSEA inspector during inspection. 

Pashu Sandesh has also requested CPCSEA to ensure the 24x7 employability off the Veterinary Doctors in the CPCSEA registered Animal House Facility. If CPCSEA goes strongly on its directive of full time Veterinary Doctor for the Animal House, then it will not only ensure good care of the Animals but would also create good number of Jobs for the Veterinary Doctors.