Animal Experimentation

Basic principles

Animal experimentation is practiced in numerous research projects to validate in vivo (via an experiment performed on a living organism) hypotheses whose aim is to better understand human or animal diseases in relation to basic life processes, or in connection with environmental questions. It is often ethically or legally impossible to test these assumptions directly on human beings. The in vivo approach is also used to validate experimental results obtained in silico (through computational methods) and/or in vitro (without the use of a living organism, for example through cell cultures or organoids).

A responsible and ethical treatment of animals is a prerequisite for this type of experiment. The EPFL Direction is committed to enforcing compliance with all currently applicable Swiss laws in this area in its research groups and by all individuals involved in animal experimentation within it. EPFL also promotes the most innovative approaches to ensure a responsible and respectful treatment of animals. To this end EPFL supports the document “Principes de swissuniversities concernant l’expérimentation animale” adopted by swissuniversities on 14th December 2016 as well as the ethical guidelines for animal experimentation jointly established by the Swiss Academies of Sciences, revised in 2025.

The Animal Welfare Act (“Loi fédérale sur la Protection des Animaux” – LPA) specifies what is deemed to be an animal experiment. In short, this includes:

• in vivo verification of a scientific hypothesis;
• testing the effectiveness of a substance on an animal;
• the use of live animals for teaching, training, and the collection of cells, organs, or physiological fluids

The LPA is the basis of the legal framework for animal experimentation in Switzerland. Particular importance is attached to the indispensability of experiments conducted, all of which must be duly justified. Several ordinances – the “Ordonnance sur la protection des animaux (OPAn)” and the “Ordonnance sur l’expérimentation animale (OExAn)” in particular – define the rules for its practical implementation. These ordinances also provide the legal framework governing the use of genetically modified animals.

Specific roles and obligations for the protection of animals are assigned to the various individuals involved in the field of animal experimentation. At EPFL, the role of Resource Manager (Directrice ou Directeur de l’Expérimentation Animale) is assigned to a professor  of the School of Life Sciences, appointed by the EPFL Presidency. EPFL also appoints an Animal Welfare Officer (DPA). Other responsibilities defined by law, such as those of experimenter and study director, play a major role within the research groups.

All persons conducting or leading animal experiments must have completed compulsory initial training (module 1 for experimenters and modules 1 and 2 for study directors). For individuals from the FIT involved in research activities, this training, accredited by the Cantonal Veterinary Office, is provided by the Lemanic Animal Facility Network (ResAL). Qualification equivalence may be granted to persons having gained experience of having completed similar training abroad. Additionally, experimenters and study directors must regularly attend further education courses (4 days over 4 years).

Any experiment with animals is subject to authorisation by the Cantonal Veterinary Office. The experiment application is transmitted to the authorities via the electronic animal experiment administration system, animex-ch. The application must detail the purpose of the experiment, all experimental procedures to be followed, the number of animals used and the constraints (degree of severity) to which the animal will be subjected according to the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement – Reduction – Refinement). From an ethical point of view, the application must explicitly specify the indispensability of the proposed experiments, thus allowing for the weighing up of interests between the knowledge to be gained through the experiment and the degree of the stress experienced by the animals. The experimenter must also demonstrate in their application that they are doing everything possible to ensure the scientific validity of their experiments (construct validity, internal validity, and external validity).

At the end of each calendar year and upon expiry of the authorisation, authorisation holders are required to submit a progress report to the Cantonal Veterinary Office, detailing all of the experiments carried out, the number of animals used over the past year and the degree of constraint retrospectively subjected to the animals.

All experiments with animals conducted outside of Switzerland must be evaluated and approved by the Animal Research Ethics Committee, AREC. The Committee has the authority to approve or refuse research projects involving animals which are conducted abroad, from the point of view of ethical acceptability. As well as the examination by AREC, the projects must also be authorised by the competent authority for research on animals of the country concerned. The AREC evaluation is based on the country where the experiments are to be conducted, the animal models 1 used and the degree of severity of the experiments.

1. In animal experimentation, it is not the animal itself (mouse, rat, fish, etc.) that is studied; rather the animal is used to model a pathology or an aspect of a scientific question, for example. It is for this reason that the term “model” is used.

Responsabilities 

The responsibilities of the various individuals involved in animal experimentation are defined in the OPAn Ordinance. In particular, responsibility for the implementation of directives, laws and ordinances on animal protection lies with any person who carries out (experimenter) or oversees (supervisor) an experiment. Overall responsibility for animal testing at EPFL lies with the Resource Manager (Directrice ou Directeur de l’Expérimentation Animale). Amongst other things, the Animal Welfare Officer supervises the creation of all authorisation requests for experiments from a legal standpoint.

Advice for day-to-day business

Obtaining an authorisation for your research may take several months. It is therefore highly advisable to take this timing into consideration and to submit your application as early as possible.

The experiment authorisation is valid for a maximum of three years. Once the Cantonal Veterinary Office has given its approval, the Federal Veterinary Office (FSVO) has a 30-day deadline to appeal before experiments can begin.

Any changes which have to be made to planned experiments must be approved in advance by the Cantonal Veterinary Office.

All experimenters and study directors must undergo compulsory training before the start of any experiment. It is therefore advisable to register for courses as soon as possible.

Information can be obtained from the EPFL Center of PhenoGenomics (CPG), located on the Lausanne campus, whose mission is to provide research groups with the necessary logistical, veterinary and legal support to conduct animal experimentation.

Any contact with the media regarding animal testing must imperatively go through Center of PhenoGenomics and Mediacom.

Legal basis

• “Animal Welfare Act”
• «Ordonnance sur la protection des animaux»
• “FSVO Ordinance on Laboratory Animal Husbandry, the Production of Genetically Modified Animals and Methods of Animal Experimentation”

Further informations 

• Swissuniversities policy for animal research
• Ethical guidelines for animal experiments
• Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) website regarding Animal experiments
• Website of the Lemanic Animal Facility Network (Resal) which organises basic training and continuing education
• “animex-ch“ tool
• EPFL Animal Research Ethics Committee (AREC)