Welcome to animal in schools policy support

Animal welfare in NSW public schools

All animals in NSW are protected by the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (NSW). In addition, animals used in teaching or research of any kind in NSW, are protected by special legislation, the Animal Research Act 1985 (NSW) and the Australian code of practice for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes.

The Animals in schools web site provides information about these and other related pieces of legislation as well as providing a copy of the document, Animals in schools: Animal welfare guidelines for teachers.

The Animal welfare policy – schools outlines the current Department of Education and Training policy relating to the use of animals and incidents involving animals.

Schools Animal Care and Ethics Committee

This legislation requires all research institutions (NSW Department of Education and Training is the accredited research institution for all NSW public schools) to have a nominated animal ethics committee. The Schools Animal Care and Ethics Committee (SACEC) is the nominated animal ethics committee for all DET schools. As part of its monitoring role, the SACEC makes routine visits to schools each year.

Approved activities

Because the most common use of animals in schools is for teaching and demonstration rather than research, schools have been recognised as a special case under the Animal Research Act 1985 (NSW). This means that teaching activities that use animals have been classified into categories depending on the level of impact that the activity has on the animal. Approved Activities includes a full list of approved activities and their respective categories.

Animal cruelty

If an incident compromising the welfare of any animal occurs, either at the school or during a school activity, then specific actions must be taken. These actions include;

immediate attention to the needs of the animal(s)
use of student discipline and/or welfare procedures
implementation of Serious Incidents procedures as described in Guidelines for Schools and TAFE NSW colleges and Campuses: Management of Serious Incidents.

Conditions of use | Help | Contact us
Report incorrect, out-of-date or missing information