Leading academics, researchers and reviewers at the University of Ibadan are currently engaging in a two-day brainstorming session on ethical issues in carrying out animal-based research.
The workshop, organized by the Animal Care and Use Research Ethics Committee, University of Ibadan in collaboration with the Postgraduate College of the institution, garnered experts from related fields of practice.
In his keynote address on the occasion, the Provost, Postgraduate College, UI, Prof. Jonathan Babalola, harped on the safety of man and animal within the environment, saying, “People would take safety to be much more important than what we eat, hence, the different kinds of safety trainings to make sure that the people are secured.
“If people who are working in industries talk of responsible care, it is important that those of us dealing with lives of our students and animals should work with responsible care. That was one of the things that led us to the fact that it is important to have ethical approvals for some of the researches that we are doing.”
To further underscore the importance of the workshop, he said, “We are not just crazy for knowledge. There is a way you get crazy for knowledge. There are times you destroy an entire plantation because you just want to find out what is there, at the end, you discover that there is nothing and you wasted many things. You want to find out what is in a particular animal and you destroy the whole specie and you come back and discover that you have found nothing.
“Now the idea is, let there be a situation where you try to get something but at the same time, you are not just working blindly, you are optimising what you have within the system. Some people hold that animals have blood and human beings have blood and so as we are ruthless to lower animals, the likelihood is we may never know peace. This concept leads to the fact that we have to be very careful the way we deal with lower animals.”
Earlier in her address on the occasion, the Chairman of UI-ACRUEC, Prof. Victoria Adetunji, explained that the committee was empowered to ensure that research activities involving animals are in compliance with the federal, state and local regulations and policies governing the use of animals in research.
Adetunji said, “In order to fulfill this mandate, the committee adopts the tool of training and education to build the capacity of researchers, research ethics reviewers and laboratory technology workers from time to time.”
She recalled that in July 19 and 20, 2017, the committee organised its maiden workshop with the theme, ‘Ethics of animal care and use in research,’ said the main focus of the 2021 research workshop with the theme, ‘Achieving effectiveness, efficiency, integrity and reliability in animal-based research’ was to fill the gaps in research ethics with the aim of reviewing the system in the university.
In order to ensure that researchers adhere to national and international standards, she said, “Well informed resource persons in research ethics, especially regarding care and use of animals in research have made themselves available to be engaged in handling various topics that are put together to achieve the goals of this workshop. The array of topics for the workshop had been strategically put together to achieve effectiveness and reliable output in animal-bases research.”
The Chairman, Ethics Committee of Animal and Plant Care Agency, United Kingdom, Dr Hugh Simmons, who shared his experience as the chairman of the agency, urged experts on the need to adhere to international best practices in executing animal-based researches for the good of man, animal and the environment.
The UK Ethics Committee of Animal and Plant Care Agency reportedly supplied some resources for use by the reviewers at the workshop.
A breakout session, where salient issues that were not touched during the presentations was held. Participants were grouped into three thematic areas of microbiology; anatomy pathology, surgery; as well as the nutritional and biochemistry studies to review practices with the aim of evolving recommendations on safe handling of animals for research purposes.
Adetunji said the first edition of ‘Animal care and use training’ manual would be commissioned and introduced to libraries and nine faculties that are involved in the use of animal research before the end of the workshop.
In attendance on the occasion are Prof. Olufunke Ola-Davis, who represented the Dean of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UI, Prof. OB Adedeji; the Director, Research Management Office, Prof. Ayodele Jegede; former Director, Research Management Office, Prof. Odunola Oyeronke; Prof. Victor Taiwo, Director, Research Management Office, Prof. Ayodele Jegede, and Prof. Odunola Oyeronke.
