Grant: Canadian Council on Animal Care

The Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) is a truly innovative and Canadian approach to the ethical care and use of animals in science. Since 1968, the CCAC has provided the only independent oversight of animal-based scientific activities in Canada through a rigorous process of assessment, certification, and standards development. In the absence of a national regulatory framework, the CCAC’s programs are some of the most powerful instruments available for setting national standards and ensuring the ethical treatment of animals in Canadian science. The CCAC has, since its inception, fulfilled the Government of Canada’s national and international responsibility “to provide high standards for experimental animal care and use through the development of relevant standards and a code of ethics, and through education and the certification of institutional programs” (Guillén, 2018). The CCAC plays an essential role within the scientific community by supporting robust and valid scientific findings built upon ethical animal practices, such as the Three Rs of replacement, reduction, and refinement (see the Three Rs and Ethics section of the CCAC website for more details). This framework is also essential to an overwhelming majority of Canadians (95%), who, while supportive of animal-based science, believe that the welfare and ethical treatment of the animals involved are of the utmost importance (Nanos, 2019; see Appendix 5).