Inspectors from the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) conduct inspections at establishments that hold a licence to conduct animal procedures. NVWA inspectors focus on aspects such as whether animal procedures comply with the Animal Experiments Act and if all procedures are in compliance with the licence issued by the CCD. For example, whether establishments properly care for the animals and whether the researchers and animal caretakers have received the appropriate training. In the event of a violation, the NVWA can impose fines (enforcement action).
Establishment licence
In addition to enforcement, the NVWA is also responsible for issuing establishment licences. Establishments such as universities, university medical centres, research institutions and pharmaceutical companies need an establishment licence in order to conduct animal procedures, as well as for breeding and/or supplying laboratory animals.
Number of animal procedures
The NVWA publishes an annual overview of the number of experiments that have been conducted using animals entitled “zodoende”. This report also includes information on the reasons for conducting these animal procedures and which animal species were involved. To ensure coherence between licensing and enforcement, the CCD and NVWA regularly consult on field-related matters, legislation and ongoing developments in animal procedures.
More information
The NVWA website sets out the requirements for animal procedures (website in Dutch).