Introductory Course in Laboratory Animal Science

The Ethics, Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes - FELASA-accredited course

Date: starts 4 April 2022 (theory to be completed online before practicals)
Venue: Faculty of Health Sciences 
Total course duration: 40 hours. Theory to be completed online ( 23 hours).
Practical Sessions 15 hours: Two days (7.5 hrs/day) in May 2021

• 4 & 5 May
• 11 & 12 May
• 18 & 19 May

*All covid-19 protocol will be followed during practical sessions. Exam date will be confirmed.

Entry requirements: Supervisory letter endorsing the candidate’s application for attendance and a copy of your ID or Passport. Higher Health clearance certificate to be presented before entering the practical venue each day.

Course fee is R 13,600 per person (UCT staff/students are eligible for a discounted rate. Please enquire on application)

This highly specialised course is aimed at persons who carry out procedures, care for, or euthanase animals for scientific purposes including research, testing or teaching at UCT and in Africa. The course is broadly attended by veterinary and para-veterinary professionals and animal ethics committees.

The course will be presented online and will start on 4 April 2022, with attendance required at two practical sessions. Students must have completed all the course content before the practical sessions.

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 (23 hours) and principles are applicable across animal species. The practical sessions (15 hours) 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)

The course is formally accredited by the following quality-assurance bodies:

• Animal Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences, UCT. Successful course completion is required for all new FHS animal workers
• South African Veterinary Council (SAVC): 35 Structured CPD points for SAVC-registered professionals and authorised researchers [AC/2133/19]
• Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations (FELASA) formally accredited course for mice and rats, EU Functions A&C [F069/19]

Certificates from UCT and FELASA will be issued upon successful completion.

To register, please send the following to ce.administration@uct.ac.za.

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

Download the registration form here.Closing date for applications is Friday 18 March 2022

Only participants registered for the course will be eligible to attend.