ORBEA

ORBEA-BIOPOLIS-CIBIO, the Animal Welfare Ethics and Review Body at BIOPOLIS-CIBIO, is an advisory board to provide support and advice to CIBIO researchers on issues relating to animal welfare and ethics on animal research in accordance with current legislation (Decreto-Lei nº 113/2013), ensuring the good development of projects and compliance with European and national law relating to animal welfare and use in research.

Current ORBEA-BIOPOLIS-CIBIO members are: 

Paulo Gama Mota (acting as responsible of the institution), 

Gonçalo Cardoso (acting as responsible for the supervision of animal welfare and animal care), 

Ricardo Jorge Lopes (acting as responsible for the supervision of animal welfare and animal care), 

Nuno Santos (veterinary), 

Fernando Lima (scientific responsible), 

Ana Lopes (representing researchers), 

Joana Abrantes (representing researchers).

The activity of ORBEA-BIOPOLIS-CIBIO is regulated by its regulation, which can be found here.

(a) advise the staff dealing with animals on matters related to the welfare of animals, in relation to their acquisition, accommodation, care and use;

(b) advise the staff on the application of the requirement of replacement, reduction and refinement, and keep it informed of technical and scientific developments concerning the application of that requirement;

(c) establish and review internal operational processes as regards monitoring, reporting and follow-up in relation to the welfare of animals housed or used in the installations of BIOPOLIS-CIBIO;

(d) follow the development and outcome of projects, taking into account the effect on the animals used, and identify and advise as regards elements that further contribute to replacement, reduction and refinement; and

(e) advise on rehoming schemes, including the appropriate socialisation of the animals to be rehomed.

Projects involving the use of animals for scientific purposes should be submitted for ORBEA-BIOPOLIS-CIBIO's evaluation. These include projects that involve animal experimentation, as well as those involving the capture or detention of wild animals.

Requests for ORBEA-BIOPOLIS-CIBIO evaluations should be sent to orbea@cibio.up.pt, using this form that should be completed as appropriate. Presently, the form is identical to the DGAV’s (Direcção Geral de Agricultura e Veterinária) one, in order to facilitate evaluation by national regulating bodies (see below).

Projects that only involve the capture processing and temporary detention of wild fauna to collect biological samples are required to obtain approval by ICNF, which should occur after a favorable evaluation by ORBEA-BIOPOLIS-CIBIO.

Projects involving animal experimentation, as defined in the Decreto-Lei nº 113/2013 of August 7, require approval by DGAV after a favorable evaluation from ORBEA-BIOPOLIS-CIBIO.

The Decreto-Lei nº 113/2013, of August 7, applies to projects involving vertebrate animals, including autonomously feeding larval forms and fetal forms of mammals from the last third of their normal development, as well as live cephalopods.

According to Article 2 of Decree-Law nº 113/2013, of August 7, this is applicable in the following situations:

a) When animals are used or intended to be used in procedures;

b) When animals are bred specifically for the use of their organs or tissues for scientific purposes.

A procedure is defined as any use, invasive or not, of an animal for experimental or other scientific purposes, with known or unknown results, or for educational purposes, likely to cause a level of pain, suffering, anguish, or lasting damage equivalent to or greater than that caused by introduction of a needle in accordance to good veterinary practice, including any action intended or likely to lead to the birth or hatching of an animal, or the creation and maintenance of a genetically modified animal line, excluding the sacrifice of animals solely for the use of organs or tissues.