Awareness of Animal Welfare and the Law among Undergraduate Students in a Brazilian Medical School

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate medical and biomedical students’ knowledge about legislation related to the use of animals in research (Arouca’s Law), at the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil. We received 62 responses to our online questionnaire of which 44 were considered valid. Only 25.3% of the students were aware of Arouca’s Law and 15% of them had read it. The majority of the participants (54.5%) were not aware of the penalties established by this legislation and had not attended classes regarding animal bioethics (70.5%). Those who had attended courses about animal experimentation were less likely to begin their experiments without approval (p=0.03) and more likely not to use more animals than the number approved by the ethics committee (p=0.05). Overall, the results showed a lack of knowledge among students about animal bioethics legislation, and a failure on the part of the students’ advisors to provide this information. The results highlight the need for more training on animal bioethics, better monitoring of compliance with the legislation and for courses on the subject for both students and advisors.