The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) defines “animal welfare” as the physical and mental state of an animal in relation to the conditions in which it lives and dies. An animal is considered to be in high level of welfare when it is healthy, lives in a comfortable environment, has sufficient food and nutrition, safe from any form of threats, free to exhibit natural behaviors, and it is in a state where it does not bear any pain, suffering, and stress (The Five FREEDOM).

Impact of AWA 2015 on Institutions:

Based on the excerpt from AWA 2015, Act 772, Section 15 (1), there are some activities involving animals that require registration/licence from the Animal Welfare Board (Table 1). Therefore, any study involving animals in research should be approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). According to AWA 2015, act 772, Section 16(1)-(4), IACUC is an intermediary and a body that conducts review, monitoring and record keeping to ensure the "Malaysian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animal for Scientific Purpose" and UPM policies are duly followed by researchers.

1 Animal accommodation 8 Animal quarantine* 2 Riding and herding animals 9 Animal training 3 Animals for performance 10 Sale of live animals in captivity* 4 Animal breeding* 11 Animal slaughter 5 Animal for research, testing and teaching* 12 Animal disposal* 6 Animal enclosures and shelters 13 Control of stray animals (individuals, organizations/ corporates) 7 Animal rescue and rehabilitation *Activities involving animals at COMeT, IBS
Individual Ventilation Cage (IVC).	Laboratory animal research using the Individual Ventilation Cage (IVC) system

Date of Input: 19/09/2022 | Updated: 19/09/2022 | azah