EN
The experiments conducted on animals in Poland are regulated by the terms of the Experiments on Animals Act passed in 2005. The Act implements the European Community guidelines for current legislation as well as the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals Used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes into Polish law. In legal terms, the experiment on an animal is defined as any use of an animal for scientific research, testing or didactic purposes that may result in sensations of pain, suffering or permanent damage to the animal’s organism, even if such effects are successfully eliminated by anesthesia or other measures. The law in force defines vertebrate animals that are actual or intended subjects of experiments as Experimental Animals and grants them legal protection. The fundamental principle is that experiments are to be conducted on animals bred especially for that purpose, which are classified as laboratory animals. Other, non-laboratory animals, except for pets and stray animals, can be subjected to experiments occasionally, provided that laboratory animals are not fit to serve the purpose.