This guideline sets out the frameworks that determine whether a procedure is considered to be an animal procedure. In other words, it clarifies whether an activity is subject to a project licence requirement and, consequently, to registration requirements.
Following the revision of the Animal Experiments Act in 2014, the first version of this guideline was published. At that time, a working group was established with broad representation from the laboratory animal science field. In 2025, the revised Animal Experiments Act had been in force for ten years. The CCD considered this an appropriate moment to evaluate and revise the guideline published in 2015.
This guideline sets out, step by step, the decision points that ultimately determine whether an activity performed on an animal is to be regarded as an animal procedure. The document also includes a decision tree (Appendix 1) and an extensive table with examples (Appendix 2) to support the decision-making process.