# The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (Amendment) Regulations 2026, Regulation 4: Amendment to section 5A (application for a project licence)


In section 5A (application for a project licence)—
(a) in subsection (1)(c), for “Annex 6 of the Animals Directive” substitute “subsection (1A)”;
(b) after subsection (1), insert—
“(1A) The matters referred to in subsection (1)(c) are—
(a) the relevance of, and justification for, the regulated procedures specified in the application;
(b) the proposed application of methods to replace, reduce or refine the use of animals in those procedures;
(c) the proposed severity classification of the procedures specified in the application (see section 5B(3)(c));
(d) the relevance of, and justification for, the use of animals in those procedures;
(e) the following matters in relation to the animals to be used in those procedures—
(i) their estimated number;
(ii) their type and species;
(iii) their life stages;
(iv) their origin;
(f) the proposed housing conditions, husbandry conditions and care conditions of those animals;
(g) the steps proposed for the avoidance, reduction or alleviation of pain, suffering or distress in those animals, from birth to death where appropriate, including, in particular—
(i) the planned use of anaesthesia, analgesia or other methods of relieving pain;
(ii) the use of humane end-points;
(h) any proposed experimental or observational strategy or statistical design for minimising the following where appropriate—
(i) the number of animals to be used;
(ii) their pain, suffering or distress;
(iii) the environmental impact of the procedures;
(i) the cumulative effects of any proposed reuse on those animals;
(j) any proposed methods of killing those animals;
(k) the steps proposed for the avoidance of any unjustified duplication of procedures where appropriate;
(l) the competence of persons involved in the proposed programme of work.”.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2026/9780348281750/regulation/4 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/draft-animals-scientific-procedures-act-1986-amendment-regulations-2026/regulation-4
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.