Online theory start date: Monday 20 April 2026 (20 hours) (asynchronous, must be completed before practical)
Face-to-face Lectures & Practical dates (20 hours): 19 to 22 May 2026, 8:30am to 4:00pm each day
Practical Venue: UCT Faculty of Health Sciences campus

Exam Date: Friday 22 May 2026

Entry requirements: Supervisory letter endorsing the candidate’s application for attendance and a copy of your ID or Passport. 

Course fee is R 17,445 per person 

Register Online

This specialised course is aimed at persons who perform procedures on, care for, or euthanase animals for scientific purposes including for research, testing or teaching at UCT and in Africa. The course is broadly attended by scientists who conduct and design animal studies and teaching activities, veterinary and para-veterinary professionals, and animal ethics committee members.

The main course objective is to present the basic principles that underlie the responsible and ethical care and use of animals for scientific purposes. Most of the lectures and principles are applicable across animal species. The practical sessions and some lectures focus on mice and rats.

Course content:

  • Animal ethics (moral philosophy; legislation; standards; UCT policies; reduction, refinement & replacement)
  • Animal welfare (welfare monitoring; humane endpoints; euthanasia; anaesthesia; analgesia; surgical principles)
  • Research quality (study design; model validity; calculating sample size; statistics; limiting confounding factors)
  • Biology & husbandry (behaviour; housing; enrichment; nutrition; anatomy; physiology; genetics; health status)
  • Ethical review (how to complete an Animal Ethics Committee application to ensure a rapid turn-around time)
  • Practical training (normal behaviour; welfare monitoring; rodent handling, restraint, injections & euthanasia)

The course is formally accredited by the following quality-assurance bodies:

  • Animal Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences, UCT. Successful course completion is required for all new FHS animal workers.
  • South African Veterinary Council (SAVC): 35 Structured CPD points for SAVC-registered professionals and authorised researchers [AC/2133/19]
  • Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations (FELASA) formally accredited course for mice and rats, EU Functions A&C [F069/19]

A digital certificate from UCT and FELASA certificate will be issued upon successful completion.

Closing date for applications: Friday 10 April 2026

Only participants registered for the course will be eligible to attend.