Statute Details
- Title: Animals and Birds (Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes) Rules
- Act Code: ABA1965-R10
- Legislative Type: Subsidiary legislation (sl)
- Authorising Act: Animals and Birds Act (Cap. 7, s. 80)
- Status: Current version as at 26 Mar 2026
- Revised Edition: 2007 RevEd (1 Oct 2007)
- Key Instruments / Amendments: SL 668/2004; S 213/2019 (w.e.f. 1 Apr 2019); S 472/2022 (w.e.f. 10 Jun 2022)
- Key Rules (as reflected in the extract): Rule 2 (Definitions); Rule 3 (Keeping/using animals for scientific purposes); Rule 4 (Application for and issue of licence); Rule 13 (Keeping of records and reports); Rule 16 (Reporting disease outbreak/unusual mortalities); Rule 18 (Guidelines and directives)
- Notable Structural Features: Licensing regime; institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) governance; veterinary oversight; recordkeeping and reporting; disease control; director-general guidelines
What Is This Legislation About?
The Animals and Birds (Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes) Rules (“the Rules”) set out the regulatory framework for how animals and birds may be kept or used in Singapore for “scientific purposes”. In plain language, the Rules require that any organisation wishing to conduct animal-based research, teaching, diagnosis, product testing, or related scientific activities must obtain a licence and operate within specified governance, welfare, and compliance requirements.
The Rules are designed to ensure that animal use is conducted responsibly and under structured oversight. They do this by combining (i) a licensing system administered by the Director-General, (ii) internal institutional governance through an institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC), and (iii) external professional oversight through an attending veterinarian. They also impose operational duties such as recordkeeping, annual reporting, quarantine and disease outbreak reporting, and restrictions on releasing animals back into the environment.
Although the Rules are subsidiary legislation, they are tightly linked to the Animals and Birds Act. The Act provides the overarching legal authority and enforcement architecture, while the Rules provide the detailed “how” for licensing and compliance. For practitioners, the Rules are particularly important because they translate animal welfare and biosafety expectations into concrete procedural obligations that can be audited, documented, and enforced.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1) Scope and definitions (Rule 2)
Rule 2 defines core terms that determine who is regulated and what activities are captured. “Animal” covers live vertebrates (including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) but expressly excludes human beings. “Scientific purpose” is broadly defined to include research, teaching, diagnosis, field trials, product testing, production of biological products, and environmental studies. The definition also covers special breeding requirements integral to a research or teaching project. This breadth matters: many activities that might be described as “testing” or “development” can fall within “scientific purpose”.
The Rules also define “approved project” as a project involving animal use for a scientific purpose that has been approved by the IACUC. This creates a two-step compliance pathway: even if a licence exists, the specific project must be approved internally by the IACUC before animal use proceeds.
2) Prohibition without licence and compliance conditions (Rule 3)
Rule 3 is the gatekeeping provision. It provides that no person who owns, occupies, manages, or controls premises may keep or use (or allow others to keep or use) any animal in those premises for a scientific purpose unless all conditions are met: (a) the person holds a licence issued by the Director-General authorising the activity; (b) the activity is carried out in accordance with licence conditions; (c) the licensee has appointed an IACUC and the project has been approved by that committee; and (d) the licensee has employed an attending veterinarian under Rule 11.
Practically, Rule 3 makes compliance multi-layered. A common risk for institutions is assuming that “having a licence” is sufficient. The Rules make clear that project-level approval and veterinary oversight are mandatory prerequisites to lawful animal use.
3) Licensing: eligibility, application, and Director-General discretion (Rule 4)
Rule 4 governs applications for licences. An application must be made to the Director-General in the required form/manner and must be accompanied by the appropriate fee (as set out in the Schedule) and specified particulars, information and documents. The Director-General may issue a licence (unconditionally or subject to conditions) or refuse it.
Crucially, Rule 4(3) restricts who can be licensed. The applicant must be carrying on business in Singapore and be registered under the Business Registration Act, or be a company under the Companies Act, a statutory body, or an institution of higher learning. The Director-General must also be satisfied that the applicant’s functions involve scientific purposes and that the premises are suitable for keeping or using animals for scientific purposes.
Rule 4(4) allows the Director-General to consider the character and fitness of the applicant (including, for bodies corporate, the board or governing body) and the ability to operate and maintain premises in accordance with conditions and guidelines. Rule 4(5) provides inspection powers: the Director-General (or authorised officers) may enter and inspect premises and require alterations/improvements at the applicant’s expense.
Rule 4(6) sets out refusal grounds, including prior convictions under the Act, prior suspension/revocation of a licence, inability to comply with conditions and guidelines, unsuitability of premises, failure to appoint an IACUC, and failure to employ an attending veterinarian. For practitioners, these refusal grounds are important because they signal what evidence regulators will expect: governance structures (IACUC), staffing (veterinarian), and facility readiness.
4) Ongoing compliance: records, disease reporting, and guidelines (Rules 13, 16, 18)
While the extract you provided highlights Rules 13, 16 and 18, the Rules as a whole include multiple continuing obligations. Rule 13 requires every licensee to maintain records, reports and other documentation relating to the keeping of animals for scientific purposes. This is a compliance backbone: recordkeeping enables monitoring of welfare, project conduct, and regulatory oversight.
Rule 16 imposes a reporting duty where a licensee has reason to believe or suspect an outbreak of disease or unusual mortalities. This is a public health and animal health safeguard. It ensures that potentially serious events are escalated promptly to the regulator, enabling quarantine or other control measures.
Rule 18 empowers the Director-General to issue or adopt guidelines and directives for the purpose of promoting proper compliance. Guidelines are often operationally significant even if they are not “law” in the same way as the Rules themselves; they can influence how institutions interpret licence conditions, veterinary care expectations, and procedural standards.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Rules are organised as a set of numbered rules, supported by a Schedule (notably including fees). The structure is designed to move from definitions and licensing prerequisites to governance and operational compliance.
Key elements include:
- Rule 1 (Citation)
- Rule 2 (Definitions)
- Rule 3 (Core prohibition and conditions for lawful animal use)
- Rule 4 (Application for and issue of licence; eligibility and refusal grounds)
- Rules 5–6 (Transfer of licence; obligations of licensee)
- Rules 7–9 (IACUC appointment, membership, functions/duties, and replacement powers)
- Rules 10–12 (Project approval; veterinary care; qualifications of personnel)
- Rule 13 (Records and reports)
- Rule 14 (Annual report and information)
- Rule 15 (Quarantine)
- Rule 16 (Disease outbreak/unusual mortalities reporting)
- Rule 17 (Restriction on release of animals without permission)
- Rule 18 (Guidelines and directives)
- Rule 19 (Offences and penalties)
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Rules apply to persons who own, occupy, manage, or control premises where animals are kept or used for scientific purposes, and to persons who hold licences as “licensees”. The licensing eligibility in Rule 4(3) indicates that the regulated community is primarily Singapore-based businesses, companies, statutory bodies, and institutions of higher learning whose functions involve scientific purposes.
In addition, the Rules create compliance responsibilities for internal governance actors and staff. The IACUC must be appointed and must approve projects. An attending veterinarian must be employed. Personnel involved in housing, feeding, and general care or use of animals (and those assisting investigators) are implicated through the Rules’ requirements on qualifications and veterinary care. Even where individuals are not licence holders, their activities can be relevant to whether the licensee is meeting its obligations.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
For practitioners advising research institutions, biotech companies, or teaching hospitals, the Rules are important because they convert animal research governance into enforceable legal duties. Non-compliance is not merely a matter of ethics or internal policy; it can trigger regulatory action under the licence regime and potentially lead to offences and penalties under Rule 19 (and the underlying Act).
The Rules also have significant operational impact. Institutions must build and maintain systems for: (i) licence applications and renewals/variations; (ii) IACUC governance and project approval workflows; (iii) veterinary oversight and adequate veterinary care; (iv) recordkeeping and annual reporting; and (v) disease surveillance and quarantine readiness. These are resource-intensive compliance functions, but they are essential to avoid disruption to research and to demonstrate regulatory accountability.
Finally, the Director-General’s power to issue or adopt guidelines and directives (Rule 18) means that compliance expectations can evolve. Practitioners should therefore treat guidelines as part of the compliance landscape and ensure that internal standard operating procedures remain aligned with current directives and licence conditions.
Related Legislation
- Animals and Birds Act (Cap. 7) — authorising framework and enforcement provisions (including s. 80 and references such as licence suspension/revocation)
- Business Registration Act (Cap. 32) — licensing eligibility for business registration in Singapore
- Companies Act (Cap. 50) — licensing eligibility for companies incorporated or registered in Singapore
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Animals and Birds (Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes) Rules for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.