L.R.O. 1/2012
LAWS OF GUYANA
ANIMALS (CONTROL OF EXPERIMENTS) ACT
CHAPTER 71:03
Act
32 of 1957
Amended by
20 of 1959 6 of 1997





1 – 8 ... 1/2012
(inclusive) by L.R.O.
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Note
on
Subsidiary Legislation

This Chapter contains no subsidiary legislation.




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CHAPTER 71:03
ANIMALS (CONTROL OF EXPERIMENTS) ACT
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
3. Experiments only to be performed by licensed persons.
4. Experiments not to be performed for purposes of attaining manual
skill.
5. Prohibition of performance of experiments for illustration of lectures
subject to certain conditions.
6. Restrictions upon performances of experiments by licensee.
7. Grant of licence.
8. Permits.
9. Special permits.
10. Records and inspections.
11. Returns.
12. Inspection of specified places.
13. Regulations.
14. Revocation of licence or permit.
15. Penalty.
16. Restriction on prosecution of licensee.
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32 of 1957 An Act to regulate the practice of experiments on living
animals, and matters in connection therewith.
[13TH JULY, 1957]
Short title.
Interpretation.
1. This Act may be cited as the Animals (Control of
Experiments) Act.
2. In this Act—
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Experiments
only to be
performed by
licensed
persons.

Experiments
not to be
performed for
purposes of
attaining
manual skill.

Prohibition of
performance of
experiments
for illustration
of lectures
subject to
certain
conditions.

Restrictions
upon
performances
of experiments
by licensee.
“animal” means a living vertebrate animal;
“experiment” means any experiment calculated to give pain
performed on any animal which interferes with the
normal health or comfort of that animal, but does not
include any test carried out on an animal by a qualified
person as an aid to the veterinary diagnosis of the
condition of that animal;
“licensee” means a person licensed under section 7 of this Act.
3. (1) No person except a licensee shall perform any
experiment.
(2) No licensee shall perform any experiment
except in accordance with the terms of his licence and subject
to the restrictions imposed by this Act.
4. No licensee shall perform any experiment for the
purpose of attaining manual skill.
5. No licensee shall perform any experiment for the
purpose of illustrating any lecture at any university,
university college, hospital, medical school, agricultural
college, farm school or any other academic institution unless
he is the holder of a teaching permit under this Act, and
unless the experiment is of a class specified in such permit
and is performed in accordance with the terms of such
permit.
6. (1) Except as otherwise provided in section 5, no
licensee shall perform any experiment except—
(a) for the purpose of the advancement of
new discovery of physiological
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knowledge, or of any knowledge
which will be useful for saving or
prolonging life, or alleviating
suffering, or for combating any
disease whether of human beings,
animals or plants;
(b) for the purpose of testing any former
discovery alleged to have been made
for the advancement of the types of
knowledge referred to in paragraph
(a);
(c) by the order in writing of any Judge
of the High Court in any case where
such Judge is satisfied that it is
essential for the purpose of justice in a
criminal case to make such
experiment.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3),
no licensee shall perform any experiment unless—
(a) throughout the whole of the
experiment the animal is under the
influence of some anaesthetic of
sufficient power to prevent the animal
feeling pain; and
(b) if the pain is likely to continue after
the effect of the anaesthetic has
ceased, or if any serious injury has
been inflicted on the animal, the
animal is killed before it recovers
from the influence of the
anaesthetic which has been
administered.

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Grant of
licence.
Permits.
[20 of 1959]

Special permits.
(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply to any licensee
who is the holder of a special permit granted under section 9
in relation to any experiment specified in such special permit.
7. (1) The Minister may grant a licence to any person
to perform any experiment for any purpose specified in such
licence during such period and subject to such conditions in
addition to the conditions specified in this Act as he may
think fit.
(2) It shall be a condition of any licence granted
under subsection (1), that any experiment performed
pursuant to such licence shall be performed at such place as
may be specified in such licence.
8. (1) Where the Chief Medical Officer is satisfied that
it is absolutely necessary for the due instruction of persons
attending any course of lectures for the purpose of acquiring
physiological knowledge or any knowledge which will be
used for saving or prolonging life, or alleviating suffering, or
for combating any disease whether of human beings, animals
or plants, for any such lecture to be illustrated by the
performance of any experiment, the Chief Medical Officer
may grant to a licensee under this Act a teaching permit to
perform any experiment specified in such licence for the
purpose of illustrating such lecture.
(2) Every teaching permit under this section shall
be subject to such conditions in addition to any conditions
specified in this Act as may be specified in such permit, and
such permit shall remain in force for such period as may be
stated therein.
9. (1) Where the Chief Medical Officer is satisfied that
the object of any experiment permitted to be performed by a
licensee under this Act would necessarily be frustrated—
(a) by the performance of such
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Records and
inspections.
Returns.
experiment under any anaesthetic; or
(b) by killing the animal on which such
experiment is performed before it
recovers from the influence of any
anaesthetic,
he may grant a special permit authorising the licensee to
perform such experiment without administering any
anaesthetic to the animal or without killing the animal before
it recovers from the influence of such anaesthetic as the case
may be.
(2) Any special permit under this section shall
specify the period for which it shall remain in force.
10. (1) Every licensee under this Act shall keep, in
such form as may be prescribed, records of all experiments
performed by him.
(2) Every licensee under this Act shall permit any
person authorised in writing by the Chief Medical Officer to
inspect any records kept by him at any time between 8 a.m.
and 6 p.m. on any day other than a Sunday or public holiday.
(3) Every licensee under this Act shall permit any
person authorised in writing as aforesaid to enter and inspect,
for the purpose of securing compliance with this Act, any
place specified in such licensee’s licence for the performance
of experiments.
11. Every licensee shall render to the Chief Medical
Officer in such form and at such time as may be prescribed
such returns as may be required in relation to any
experiments performed by him.
12. (1) The Chief Medical Officer shall cause all places
specified in licences and permits granted under this Act to be places.
specified
Inspection of
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Regulations.

Revocation of
licence or
permit.
Penalty.
[6 of 1997]

Restriction on
prosecution of
licensee.

visited from time to time by inspectors for the purpose of
securing compliance with this Act.
(2) Inspectors may be appointed for the purposes
of this Act and the Minister may assign the duties of
inspectors for those purposes to such public officers as he
may think fit, either permanently or temporarily.
13. (1) The Minister may make regulations generally
for the better carrying out of the provisions of this Act.
(2) Regulations made under this section may
without prejudice to the generality of the power conferred by
subsection (1) provide for the keeping of records of all
experiments performed by any licensee under this Act and for
the rendering of returns in relation to any experiments
performed under this Act.
14. It shall be a condition of every licence or permit
granted under this Act that such licence or permit may be
revoked at any time by the person granting it on his being
satisfied that such licence or permit ought to be revoked.
15. Every person who acts in contravention of any of
the provisions of this Act or of any condition of any licence or
permit granted under this Act shall be liable on summary
conviction to a fine of twenty-six thousand dollars and to
imprisonment for six months.
16. A prosecution under this Act against a licensee
shall not be instituted except by or with the consent of the
Attorney-General.
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