The 2026 draft rules sort every animal experiment by the pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm it is expected to cause (Rule 7, Annexure I). The category then decides who approves it.
The four categories
- Non-recovery: done entirely under general anaesthesia from which the animal does not recover consciousness.
- Mild: short-term mild pain, suffering or distress, or no significant impairment of well-being.
- Moderate: short-term moderate, or long-lasting mild, pain, suffering or distress, or moderate impairment of well-being.
- Severe: severe pain, suffering or distress, long-lasting moderate pain, or severe impairment of well-being.
Examples from the draft
| Category | Examples in Annexure I |
|---|---|
| Mild | Withdrawal of food for under 24 hours in adult rats; short-term solitary caging of adult rats or mice of sociable strains |
| Moderate | Withdrawal of food for 48 hours in adult rats; escape and avoidance tests where the animal cannot escape the stimulus; inducing tumours that cause moderate pain |
| Severe | Toxicity testing where death is the endpoint; inescapable electric shock; complete isolation for long periods of social species such as dogs and primates |
Who approves each
Mild and moderate experiments on any species: the establishment’s own ethics committee (Rule 11(3)). Severe and non-recovery experiments on animals above rodents and rabbits: CCSEA (Rule 11(2)). The draft does not say who approves severe experiments on rodents and rabbits.
Experiments with severe pain that is likely to last long and cannot be relieved are not allowed (Rule 7(2)).
Objections can be sent to CCSEA until . Write and send yours in two minutes.
Sources
- CCSEA: Draft Laboratory Animals Rules, 2026, G.S.R. 864(E) (Gazette of India, Extraordinary, No. 793, )
- CCSEA: Compendium of CPCSEA (1998 Rules, 2001 and 2006 amendments, PCA Act Chapter IV, standard operating procedures)
