Useful Information

Application for Animal Experiment Licence

Animals (Control of Experiments) Ordinance (Cap. 340)

The This link will open in a new windowAnimals (Control of Experiments) Ordinance (Cap. 340) (the Ordinance) provides for the control of experiments on living vertebrate animals. Under the Ordinance,"animal" means a living vertebrate animal and "experiment" means any experiment performed on an animal and calculated to give pain to the animal. Before performing an animal experiment, a person shall apply for a licence for that particular experiment. Please refer to the sections below for details.

Type of Licences

There are different types of licence, permit and endorsements for experiments of different nature which include:

• Licence to Conduct Experiment (Form 2);
• Endorsement to Authorize Experiments to Attain Manual Skills (Form 3);
• Teaching Permit (Form 4); and
• Endorsement to Authorize Experiments without Anaesthetics or without Destroying the Animal (Form 5).

Application Procedures

To apply for licence/ permit/ endorsement(s), an applicant should submit the completed application form (Form 1) and Annex to Form 1 to the Director of Health. Applicant is encouraged to submit Form 1 online. The online form requires digital signature by either digital certificate or “iAM Smart+ ”. Please refer to the below infographic for “iAM Smart+” free registration or upgrade methods and required items for smooth registration or upgrade.

For the steps to submit application online, please refer to the below infographic.

Alternatively, you may submit Form 1 by email or post:

Address:	Health Technology and Advisory Division Department of Health 21/F, Wu Chung House 213 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
E-mail:	ro_al@dh.gov.hk

If an applicant wishes to continue with the same animal experiment, that is, no change of experimental procedures under the type of experiment(s) and purpose of the experiment(s), he/ she shall indicate in the Annex to Form 1 and quote the reference number of a previously granted licence as appropriate. If there are any changes of the experiments, including but not limited to the type(s) of animals used, experimental procedure(s), and method(s) used to sacrifice the animals, the application will be considered as a new application. It will be a breach of the Ordinance to conduct experiments not in accordance with the terms of the licence or after the expiry dates of the existing licences.

Useful information

Applicants are advised to read the This link will open in a new windowGuide to application for licence under the Animals (Control of Experiments) Ordinance (and the This link will open in a new windowpresentation file of our latest webinar) before filling in the form. Explanatory Notes and Samples of Completed Forms are available for reference.

With effect from 15 June 2022, for a licence, permit and/or endorsement granted under the Ordinance, an electronic licence will be sent to the applicant via the email address as provided in the application and no additional hard-copy of licence will be sent to the applicant by post.

Important notes

1. Keeping Records

   The This link will open in a new windowAnimals (Control of Experiments) Regulations (Cap. 340A) (the Regulations) stipulate that every licensee shall keep records of all licensed experiments performed by him/her in the form set out as Form 6. Licensees shall permit authorized officer to enter and inspect the places where experiments may be conducted for the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions of the Ordinance. Failure to comply with the above legal duty is an offence. Licensees are advised to read the Explanatory Notes and Samples of Completed Forms for completion of Form 6.

2. Rendering Returns

   The This link will open in a new windowRegulations stipulate that every licensee shall render to the Director of Health on or before the 1st day of January of each year a return in the form set out as Form 7 of all licensed experiments performed by him/her during the preceding twelve months. Failure to comply with the above legal duty is an offence. Form 7 and its Annex can also be filled out electronically and submitted online. Licensees are advised to read the Explanatory Notes and Samples of Completed Forms for completion of Form 7.

3. Performing experiment in accordance with the terms of the licence

   Section 3(2) of the Ordinance stipulates that no licensee shall perform any experiment except in accordance with the terms of his licence and subject to the restrictions imposed by the Ordinance. If you wish to perform experiments other than the one described in your existing licence or if there are any changes of the experiments, including but not limited to the type(s) of animals used, experimental procedure(s), and method(s) used to sacrifice the animals, you have to submit a new application to perform the experiments. It will be a breach of the Ordinance to conduct experiments not in accordance with the terms of the licence.

To clarify the requirements of Cap.340 and the risk-based approach for inspection, two identical briefing sessions were held on 6 and 11 November 2024 (in Cantonese and English respectively). The sessions aimed to highlight crucial compliance issues for parties concerned and common pitfalls to avoid. The presentation materials are available This link will open in a new windowhere for reference.

Enquiries

For enquiries, please contact us at:

Tel:	2961 8975
Fax:	2127 7329
E-mail:	ro_al@dh.gov.hk