This is one of two main pieces of animal welfare legislation in Sweden. It has been edited to contain mostly material relating to animal research.
Use of animals for scientific purposes, etc.
Section 40
Applications for permission pursuant to section 19 a of the Animal Welfare Act (1988:534) shall be considered by the National Board of Agriculture.
Section 40a
The National Board of Agriculture may, in consultation with the National Board for Laboratory Animals, adopt rules laying down conditions for or prohibiting the breeding, keeping, supply or use of animals for th e purposes referred to in section 19 of the Animal Welfare Act (1988:534).
Section 41
Ethical committees on animal experiments shall be appointed for the purpose of ethical approvals pursuant to section 21 (1) of the Animal Welfare Act (1988:534).
Section 42
The number of ethical committees on animal experiments shall be decided by the National Board for Laboratory Animals; however, it shall be not less than six. The committees shall be distributed throughout the country in the places decided by the National Board for Laboratory animals.
Section 43
(1) Each committee shall have a chairperson and a vice-chairperson and include laypeople, research workers and representatives of the personnel who handle laboratory animals.
(2) The National Board for Laboratory Animals shall appoint the chairperson and the vice-chairperson, who shall be impartial and shall preferably have legal training and experience as judges.
(3) Half of the other members of the committee shall be lay members. The number of lay members representing animal welfare organizations shall be less than half than the total number of lay members on the committee.
Section 44
(1) The number of members of the ethical committees on animal experiments shall be decided by the National Board for Laboratory Animals. However, the number must not exceed 14.
(2) The members shall be appointed by the National Board for Laboratory animals for not more than four years at a time.
Section 45
To constitute a quorum, a committee shall consist of the chairperson and the number of other members stipulated by the National Board for Laboratory Animals. Half of these other members shall be lay members. The chairperson and the vice-chairperson must not simultaneously take part in a decision of the committee.
Section 46
A committee may assign the task of preparing matters to one or more of its members.
Section 47
Detailed rules concerning the organization of the committees and the procedure for decision on matters brought before them shall be adopted by the National Board for Laboratory Animals.
Section 48
(1) The ethical committees on animal experiments shall assist those responsible for conducting animal experiments by giving advice.
(2) Ethical reviews of the use of the animals shall be carried out every three years.
Section 49
(1) When considering specific cases the committee shall weigh the importance of the experiment against the suffering inflicted on the animal.
(2) The committee shall reject applications to use animals for scientific purposes if such use is not deemed to be in the public interest. The committee shall also reject applications to use animals for such purposes if it is possible to acquire equivalent information by other means.
Section 53
Before a vertebrate animal is used for any of the purposes referred to in section 19 of the Animal Welfare Act (1988:534), the animal shall, if the use may involve physical or mental suffering, be anaesthetized. However, if it is necessary in view of the purpose of the surgical procedure, or if the anaesthetic would cause more suffering than the use in itself, to procedure may take place under partial anaesthesia or without an anaesthetic. Where possible, an analgesic or tranquilizer shall be used in such cases to alleviate the animal's suffering, in order to ensure that the animal is not subjected to severe pain, severe anxiety or any other severe suffering.