Please click on the link above for more information.
This is the link to use for submitting information to the Department's Ethics & Welfare Committee: https://www.vet.cam.ac.uk/intranet/staff/policy/guidelines/ethics-application-documents-and-submission-portal
Department's Ethics & Welfare Committee - guidelines for clinical research
This is a reminder to all members of the Department that, other than for purely clinical reasons, any use of animals – e.g. for teaching or clinical research or VetMB projects – usually requires ethical approval and must comply to guidelines produced by the Department's Animal Ethics and Welfare Committee (see our website for full details: https://www.vet.cam.ac.uk/intranet/staff/ethicsandwelfare).
This also includes the use of animals for teaching purposes but which are not clinical cases. To reiterate, it includes all use of clinical records for research. It also includes questionnaires involving animal data or opinions on animal treatments or husbandry.
Veterinary student research projects involving data obtained from animals, whether from clinical cases or not, must be approved by the Department's Animal Ethics and Welfare Committee.
The Committee may also be able to approve certain types of project involving humans – these are usually non-contentious questionnaires. Use of human samples, or permission to obtain them, are not within our remit and will usually require NHS REC or other forms of approval, such as the School of Biological Sciences Human Biology Research Ethics Committee: https://www.bio.cam.ac.uk/research/research-policies-ethics
Staff research projects involving data obtained from animals will usually require formal ethical and welfare approval, which may be obtained from our Department's Animal Ethics and Welfare Committee, or elsewhere if preferred (eg RCVS).
Projects involving animals abroad or for non-clinical research are usually not within our remit and must be submitted elsewhere. The University AWERB Committee is suggested: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/research-at-cambridge/animal-research/overseeing-animal-research/governance/the-animal-welfare-and-ethical-review-body
The Committee does not usually process applications submitted by people, other than MRCVS or Cambridge Veterinary Undergraduates, from outside our Department.
The Department's website on ethics and welfare gives further particulars on the above, our application form and how to submit it.
Please note that common mistakes include: using an old / out-of-date application form (the current one is dated June 2024; unfeasible or impossible start date (eg same date as submission of the proposal or pre-dating it); lack of inclusion of questionnaires, consent forms or client information forms (as necessary); consent form for clinical procedures which does not include use of data for research, research proposal showing inadequate scientific planning (eg lacking cogent hypothesis, proper statistics or any coherent argument). Please consult your supervisors if appropriate.