Recommended set

14. Ethical statement Provide the name of the ethical review committee or equivalent that has approved the use of animals in this study and any relevant licence or protocol numbers (if applicable). If ethical approval was not sought or granted, provide a justification. explanation

14 Provide the name of the ethical review committee or equivalent that has approved the use of animals in this study and any relevant licence or protocol numbers (if applicable). If ethical approval was not sought or granted, provide a justification.
Explanation
Examples

Authors are responsible for complying with regulations and guidelines relating to the use of animals for scientific purposes. This includes ensuring that they have the relevant approval for their study from an appropriate ethics committee and/or regulatory body before the work starts. The ethical statement provides editors, reviewers and readers with assurance that studies have received this ethical oversight [1]. This also promotes transparency and understanding about the use of animals in research and fosters public trust.

Provide a clear statement explaining how the study conforms to appropriate regulations and guidelines. Include the name of the institution where the research was approved and the ethics committee who reviewed it (e.g. Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee [IACUC] in the US or Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body [AWERB] in the UK) and indicate protocol or project licence numbers so that the study can be identified. Also add any relevant accreditation e.g. AAALAC (American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care) [2] or GLP (Good Laboratory Practice).

If the research is not covered by any regulation and formal ethical approval is not required (e.g. a study using animal species not protected by regulations or law), demonstrate that international standards were complied with and cite the appropriate reference. In such cases, provide a clear statement explaining why the research is exempt from regulatory approval.

 

References

  1. McGrath JC and Lilley E (2015). Implementing guidelines on reporting research using animals (ARRIVE etc.): new requirements for publication in BJP. Br J Pharmacol. doi: 10.1111/bph.12955
  2. Bayne K and Turner PV (2019). Animal Welfare Standards and International Collaborations. ILAR journal. doi: 10.1093/ilar/ily024