Animal Subjects Ethics Application Review System (ASEARS)

If you plan to use live animals in teaching or in research it is necessary to (a) hold a licence under the Animal (Control of Experiments) Ordinance Cap. 340, and (b) apply to the Animal Subjects Ethics Sub-Committee (ASESC) for ethical review. Subject to the receipt of all required information, ASESC normally takes 6-8 weeks to process an application.

For enquiries, please contact RIO by email at roasesc@polyu.edu.hk.

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User's Guide

Relevant Information

Ethics defines the moral value of human conduct and the rules and principles that ought to govern it. Staff or students applying to the University for ethical approval for teaching or research involving living vertebrate animals or birds must be licensed under the Animals (Control of Experiments) Ordinance, Cap. 340. Both the person actually carrying out the work and the person nominally in charge must be licensed. The licence specifies the place(s) where experiments may be conducted, and special endorsements and permits are required for using animals:

for the purpose of attaining manual skill;
for the purpose of illustrating lectures;
without administering any anaesthetic or killing the animal.

The responsibility for ensuring that the ethical code for teaching or research involving animal subjects is followed and that facilities and operational procedures for the care of animal subjects comply with the advice given in this code lies with the principal investigator or teacher. This code applies equally when researchers are working outside the University.

For more details, please access Section V of the Handbook for Projects and Grants.

The Animal Subjects Ethics Sub-committee (ASESC), set up under the RC, is the authority for granting ethical clearance for teaching or research projects involving animal subjects.

Staff or students who plan to use live animals in teaching or in research must be licensed under the Animals (Control of Experiments) Ordinance, Cap. 340. Those who hold the licence may apply for ethical review online via Animal Subjects Ethics Application Review System (ASEARS).

Applications for ethical clearance should be obtained from the ASESC according to the following arrangement:

If PolyU colleague is the PI of the research/teaching project

For experiments to be conducted on the PolyU campus, ethics approval should be obtained from the ASESC.
For experiments to be conducted outside PolyU campus, ethics approval should be obtained from the ASESC and, if appropriate, the authority overseeing the location where the experiments will be conducted.

If PolyU colleague is a Co-I or team member of the research

The PI of the research team should be responsible for obtaining ethics approval from the relevant ethics committee. The PolyU colleague is required, on need basis, to provide proof on the ethics approval.

For more details, please access Section V of the Handbook for Projects and Grants.

The References for Humane Endpoint and Health Monitoring for Tumour Studies was introduced in 2021. The humane endpoint would be the earliest scientifically justified point at which pain or distress in an experimental animal could be prevented, terminated, or relieved, while meeting the scientific aims and objectives of the study.

For more details, please access References for Humane Endpoint and Health Monitoring for Tumour Studies .