How do we ensure Animal Welfare | Our Teams

Accommodation of the Animals

At the University of Basel, three types of vertebrate animals, namely mice, rats, and fish, are utilized for experiments. Mice constitute the vast majority, accounting for about 95% of the animals used. The animals are housed in six animal facilities and are cared for by trained animal caretakers under the supervision of a veterinarian.

The animals are kept in accordance with the FSVO regulations (Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office), ensuring that they are housed in a species-appropriate manner. The mice are kept in hygienic, air-conditioned rooms that are equipped with modern cage systems. Each cage is provided with its own air supply to ensure hygiene entities.

The animals receive daily food and water and are transferred to cages with fresh wood chip bedding every week. The animal caretakers are responsible for monitoring and documenting the health status of each animal.

The mice are provided with nesting material, hard food pellets for gnawing, and a «mouse house» for hiding, allowing them to express their innate behaviors. They are kept in social groups of three to five individuals, facilitating social interaction.

Alongside legal requirements, the University of Basel has internal guidelines to prevent individual housing of mice and to handle sick or genetically constrained animals. Specific care is provided to meet the needs of these animals, such as soft food or more frequent cage changes, while closely monitoring their health status.

 

The animal facilities of the University of Basel are staffed by approximately 40 trained animal care personnel, along with around 20 other specially trained employees from related fields who support the animal care staff, such as those involved in cage preparation. Each of the five local facilities is overseen by a local animal facility manager, while a veterinarian is responsible for the overall management. Additionally, the team includes an administrative assistant, a veterinarian serving as the Animal Management Software Administrator and Manager Constrained Lines, and a veterinarian serving as the 3R Coordinator.

The animal care team at the University of Basel has a crucial responsibility of ensuring the welfare of the animals in their care 24 h a day, every day of the year. Their tasks range from providing the animals with basic needs such as food, water and hygienic housing, to closely monitoring their physical and behavioral health. The team diligently records any unusual or concerning observations in a database, which is then communicated to the researchers and animal facilities team for immediate action.

The team also manages the veterinary care of the animals, as well as the various administrative tasks, including legal compliance, related to animal breeding and keeping, hygiene monitoring, import/export permits, and database documentation for each individual animal.

In order to ensure the highest level of professionalism and animal welfare, it is mandatory for all personnel involved in animal care and research to have adequate professional training and be recognized by the Cantonal Veterinary Office prior to commencing their work. Furthermore, they are required to participate in regular continuing education programs of four days of education within a four-year period, as specified in the Animal Welfare Training Ordinance (AWTO). Apart from the mandatory training programs, the University of Basel provides internal continuing education opportunities, such as a lecture series specifically designed for animal caretakers since 2013.

Animal Welfare Officers

The University of Basel employs four Animal Welfare Officers, all of whom are highly trained and experienced veterinarians and biologists. These officers serve as a crucial interface between the university's research groups and the Cantonal Veterinary Office.

The Animal Welfare Officers provide guidance and recommendations to the researchers regarding the planning and execution of experiments, and assist them in preparing applications and reports related to animal research. They assess the applications and ensure that they contain all necessary information for the proper evaluation of the indispensable need of harmful animal experiment. They place special emphasis on the selection of suitable anesthesia and pain relief protocols, monitoring and documentation of the experiments, and defining humane endpoints.

In addition, the Animal Welfare Officers are responsible for ensuring adherence to both legal and internal standards for animal husbandry and research, including conducting regular internal audits. They serve as primary points of contact for questions related to legally required education and training, as well as the animex-ch web application for license applications, reports, and notifications regarding animal research.

3R Coordinator

As part of the animal research application process, our researchers are required to provide a justification for why an experiment cannot be conducted using alternative approaches (Replace), fewer animals (Reduce), or less stressful methods (Refine). Adherence to the 3Rs principle is a legal requirement.

To ensure implementation, communication, and education related to the 3Rs principle at the University of Basel, we have established the 3R Coordinator role. The coordinator is responsible for promoting the 3Rs principle in laboratory animal research, breeding, and husbandry.

As member of the executive board of the Swiss 3R Competence Centre (3RCC) the 3R Coordinator contributes to the development of the federal 3RCC program, and participates in various initiatives related to research, communication, and education promoting the 3Rs principle in Switzerland.