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Openness Agreement The New Zealand Board of the Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART), a Committee of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, has supported the development of an Openness Agreement on Animal Research and Teaching for New Zealand. A draft version of the Agreement went out for consultation in 2020/21, and was launched at the ANZCCART 2021 conference on 27 July 2021: Press release about launch of Openness Agreement Media coverage: New Zealand Herald ; Science Media Centre NZ ; Radio New Zealand ; Farmers Weekly; the Mandarin New Zealand has long been committed to maintaining and improving high standards of animal welfare as well as undertaking world-leading research and teaching using animals. Those involved in research have an obligation to demonstrate and promote these values, and in order to be seen as trustworthy they must be open, transparent, and accountable for the research and teaching that they conduct, fund or support, including when the high standards they strive for are not achieved. Doing more to communicate the context in which animal research and teaching takes place, the work that organisations undertake to incorporate the Three Rs (the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of animals), the regulations that govern this research, and the systems that are in place to report and rectify poor practice is key. The objective of this Agreement is to ensure that the public are well informed about what animal research involves, the role it plays in the overall process of scientific discovery, how such research is regulated in New Zealand, and what researchers and animal care staff do to promote welfare, reduce animal usage and minimise suffering and harm to the animals. Several countries have now implemented (or are actively working on) formal ‘openness agreements’ to improve public understanding of animal research. Under such agreements, stakeholders make a public pledge to be more open about their involvement in animal research and explain details and reasons underlying it. The European Animal Research Association has several examples of openness agr eements. The longest established openness agreement is the UK Concordat on Openness on Animal Research . The UK Concordat has operated successfully since 2014 and now has over 120 signatories representing leading universities, research institutes, government agencies, funders and industry. Commit m e nts The Openness Agreement on Animal Research and Teaching in New Zealand sets out five Commitments that require signatories to take steps to be more open about the use of animals in research and teaching. The five commitments are: We will be clear about why and how we use animals in research and teachin g. We will enhance our communications with the media and the public about our use of animals in research and teaching. We will be proactive in providing opportunities for the public to find out about research and teaching using animals. We will enhance our communications with tangata whenua about our use of animals in research and teaching. We will report on progress annually and share our experiences. Following a review of the Agreement in 2024, an additional category of "Supporter" was added as a type of signatory for organisations that do not conduct animal research or teaching directly but have indirect involvement in ways such as providing funding, regulatory oversight, supplying equipment or animals for, or serving as professional bodies. View the agreement here: ANZCCART Openness Agreement on Animal Research and Teaching in New Zealand – 2025 Openness Agreement Annual Report Signatories report annually on their progress and share experiences: 2022 An nual Report: Download (Press Release ) (infographic ) 2023 Annual Report: Download (Press Re lease ) (infographic ) 2024 Annual Report: Download (Press Release ) (infographic ) Signatories The signatories to this agreement are: Research & Teaching Signatories Supporter Signatories If your organisation would like to join the Agreement, please contact: anzccart@royalsociety.org.nz

Alternatives to using animals in research, testing or teaching This section contains a selection of resources highlighting the alternatives to using animals in research, testing and teaching. It is not yet possible to replace all animal use in research, testing and teaching. The biology of live animals is often too complex to be replicated entirely by alternative methods in research experiments. Non-animal teaching methods (e.g. mannequins or video recordings) can reduce the use of live-animals in teaching but it would not be appropriate for students to graduate with no live-animal experience before moving into careers working with animals. However, alternative or replacement methods complement live-animal use and collectively can reduce live-animal use overall, and the wording "alternative" and "replacement" are used interchangeably. Replacement means that where possible we encourage and support the replacement of animal use with alternatives (e.g., cell cultures). Reduction is about reducing the numbers of animals used in research, testing and teaching, without impacting on the quality of the data gained. This can be achieved through robust training programmes, preventing duplication of studies and ensuring good study design. ANZCCART Resources The Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART) and the Ministry for Primary Industries have produced a series of booklets on the application of the three Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) in the use of animals in research and teaching. The following focus on replacement and reduction. Cell-based Disease Models (replacement) (2019) Computer Assisted Learning (replacement) (2021) Mannequins and Dummies (replacement) (2021) Alternatives to shellfish toxicity testing (replacement) (2018) Fireflies to the rescue (reduction) (2019) Mathematical models (reduction) (2022) Tissue sharing (reduction) (2024) Resource links on alternatives 9th World congress on alternatives and animal use in the life sciences (conference website) Alt web (resource database hosted by Johns Hopkins University) Altex, alternatives to animal experimentation (journal website) Centre for Alternatives to Animal Testing (at Johns Hopkins University) EU reference laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM) European society for alternates to animal testing ICCVAM (US committee advancing alternatives to animal testing) Korean centre for the validation of alternatives to animal testing (KoCVAM) Physicians committee for responsible medicine, alternatives to animal testing Statistics resources for experiments involving animals

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